Desired Affections
by lancecomwar
Summary: Naruto and Hinata are now dating, and Sakura realizes her feelings for the blonde knucklehead too late. Will she pursue her love or live her life alone? Naruhina, one-sided NaruSaku, eventual NaruHinaSaku
1. Chapter 1

... Well, this is awkward.

You may have been a fan of this before I, well, blew up. It was stupid, really: someone on another site called me a retard for some stupid reason and I was depressed and stuff and took it out on you. The three or four people who pointed out the error- well, it did annoy me, but not enought to rage quit. I was planning on saying something similar in my next chapter, but yeah. don't try to follow my logic. Anyway, sorry for taking it out on you, you probably think I'm an unstable idiot, and you're right. I wanted to bring this back but I knew I'd get a bunch of comments about that so I just tried to ignore the problem. ... Yeah, I'm ambling and you probably don't care about what goes inside my head, so just read your story and finish it and blahblahblah. Oh, and I'm taking out all my author's notes, so no more hitting it.

Taking a deep breath as he ran his fingers through his hair, Naruto went over what he planned to say once again, in a desperate attempt to win a few more seconds.

Of course, he knew that he didn't have much to worry about. This was Hinata, the sweetest, most gentle person he had ever known.

And... she loved him.

She loved _him_, even before he defeated Pain, even before he had led the Shinobi Alliance to victory over the most powerful demon to ever exist. She had loved him before he was great, before he was strong, before he was, well, _anybody_.

She had loved him even when he was an unwanted nobody, desperate for some kind of acknowledgment of his existence.

He steadied his breath- he knew all that. Hinata had hold him that herself when he had finally worked up the courage to talk to her about what she said during Pain's attack, back when they were busy rebuilding Konoha.

Of course, Naruto didn't know what to say back then. No one had ever told him they loved him before... not only that but he had had to work for each and every friend he had ever made. No one just _accepted_ him for who he was before.

But despite his uncertainty, there was one thing he knew for sure: he didn't want to tell her something he didn't mean. He needed time to sort out his feelings about her and his long standing crush on his best friend, Sakura. Not only that but the Akatsuki was still after him, and he still had to find and save Sasuke from the darkness. Not to mention the demon that was sealed inside of him...

But the war was over now. Madara and Obito Uchiha were finally dealt with, the Juubi having been split into the nine tailed beasts once more. The Akatsuki was finally a thing of the past, and Sasuke... well, he wouldn't need to worry about him any more.

And the Kyūbi sealed inside him...

Naruto had to admit, he never once thought he could actually befriend the Kyūbi . Well, Kurama, as his name actually turned out to be. But Kurama had actually felt the same pain and loneliness he himself once felt. The pain of being a tool, forever isolated from the world, only viewed as a weapon and monster. The pain of having no one to love him. The pain the tailed beasts felt was quite similar to that of their jinchūriki, as it turned out.

As such, Naruto was able to empathize with the tailed beasts. After the Jūbi was defeated, Naruto had made a deal with each of the beasts: to allow them to roam free once more, and for neither Shinobi nor bijuu to attack the other ever again. The Tailed Beasts were once again free to live, and both sides had come to an understanding. Naruto felt strange about this. He was no longer the jinchūriki of the Kyūbi, no longer the demon brat everyone feared... even though most people had come to accept that and love him in spite of that, it still felt... _off_.

As for Sakura... well, he had come to grips with her feelings for Sasuke long ago. He knew she would never like him like that. And to be perfectly honest, he wasn't sure he liked _her_ like that himself. And the more he thought about it, the more he found himself attracted to Hinata's shy demeanor, and her cute blush, and her ample bosom held tightly in her...

Naruto shook his head, clearing it of this train of thought. _'Man, I need to focus!'_

Concentrating again on the task of hand, the newly proclaimed Hero of the Ninja World took a deep breath. _'Don't worry about it, Naruto... Just go up to her and ask her for a date! She won't say no... right?'_

Swallowing, he stood up from the park bench he had been sitting as he saw the lavender haired girl that had been occupying his thoughts recently making her way down the street._ 'I can do this.' _

"Hey, Hinata!"

At the sound of her beloved's voice, Hinata let out a startled "Eep!", before tripping and falling to the dirt path. With speed worthy of his father, however, she found herself caught by Naruto's strong arms, a blistering blush finding its way onto her face.

"Hey, Hinata," he repeated, his face looking almost... shy? Her eyes widened in awe as she gazed deep into his aqua blue eyes, her mind quickly fading as she became lost in the deep blue sea that she loved to stare into so much... "Hinata?"

Blinking, her blush deepened as she realized she had fallen into a daydream in her crush's arms. With the speed of the ninja she was, she leaped out of the blonde's arms and began apologizing profusely.

The blonde hero couldn't help but crack a grin at the shy girl's display. _'How did I never notice just how cute she is when she's blushing?'_ he wondered, before getting those thoughts out of his mind.

"It's ok, Hinata," he smiled at her- one of those heartwarming, true smiles that she loved so much. Her heart rate skyrocketed.

"W-what's up, N-Naruto-kun?" she asked the blonde, silently cursing the return of that accursed stutter. Even after years of trying to train her way out of that hated habit, it still ended up manifesting itself from time to time- mostly, around Naruto.

"I was just thinking," he began, averting his eyes from her gaze in a very un-Naruto manner. Hinata tilted her head curiously at the boy, finding it impossible not to marvel how cute he was even when he was shy.

Gulping, the young heiress finally managed to find her voice. "Y-yes, Naruto-kun?" she squeaked, still mesmerized by the deep blue depths staring at her with a sensation that she dared not to name.

Naruto suddenly noticed they were standing in the middle of the road. Figuring they should go somewhere more private, as well as wanting to stall for time, he shyly asked the young Hyūga, "Why don't we go for a walk?"

Nodding her head once as she tried to calm her heart, she was thrown for a loop when Konoha's Number One Unpredictable Ninja grabbed her hand and began pulling her to who knows where. She desperately tried to resist fainting at her crush's hand around her own.

As the two began running, blushes adorning their faces, a pair of emerald eyes watched... Fearful of what might happen, their owner deecided to follow nonetheless...

* * *

Finally reaching a bench in the Konoha Public Park, Naruto let go of Hinata's hand as the two of them sat down. A fierce blush covering his cheeks; he didn't really plan on grabbing Hinata's hand! The feeling of her smooth, silky hand on his... well, it definitely made him want to go through with this.

He coughed, bringing the daydreaming girl beside him back to reality. Turning her head to face him, she quickly averted her gaze a crimson blush staining her cheeks.

The two of them sat there like that, neither willing to make the first move, or even knowing _how_ to make the first move. The two of them were new to this, after all. Sure, Hinata had crushed on the boy sitting beside her for years, hell, she had _loved_ him for years, but she never talked to him about that. Besides, it's not like she even knew his intentions today!

Naruto finally took a calming breath, _'I can do this!' _he told himself,_ 'I'm Naruto Uzumaki! Son of the Fourth Hokage! Soon to be the Sixth Hokage! I told myself I'd ask Hinata, and I never go back on my word!'_

Satisfied, he turned over to face the blushing girl besides him. Cracking a warm and inviting smile that did no favors to her already rapidly beating heart, he readied himself.

"Hinata..." he began, smiling warmly at the crimson red heiress. "I-I wanted to talk to you..."

"Y-yes, Naruto-kun?" she replied as she gazed deep into his sky blue depths. Her mind was buzzing with emotions, and she couldn't find herself able to think clearly.

"A-about what you said when you saved me from Pain..." he gulped, but still kept his eyes focused on the girl besides him.

Hinata's eyes widened at this, and a fierce blush grew on her face. She tried to move her head away from her crush to avert her gaze, but his fingers tilted her face back toward his own. Her breath was instantly taken away by the sincere look on Naruto's face.

The blonde gently rubbed his fingers against her smooth chin, marveling at how smooth it felt. "I-I promised you an answer once I had time to think, and, well..."

He gulped, as did Hinata. _'Could this be it? Is he... can he really be... can this be happening...?' _

Before she could even register it, Naruto had flung his arms around her shoulders, burying his flushed face in her smooth and flowing hair. Shocked to feel her love hugging her, wrapping his arms around her, she froze.

_'N-Naruto-kun...'_

Embarrassed at his sudden action_, _he quickly withdrew his arms from the blushing heiress. "S-sorry..."

"I-it's alright, Naruto-kun..." Hinata stammered as she mentally reminded herself to breath.

"Hinata-chan..." Naruto whispered as he stared into her beautiful eyes, marveling at the way those words felt on his lips. "I'm sorry I made you wait. But, well, I needed some time to think. And, well..." He swallowed once more. _'I can do this!' _he told himself, and was able to calm himself down for what he was about to say.

"I thought more about you, about what you've done, what you're doing. You're smart, strong, kind, gentle, beautiful... But not only that! You've also always been there for me, even when I was too stupid to notice. You believed in me, even when I hardly believed in myself. And since I started looking at you with a new set of eyes, I see you in a whole new light... I've never actually, well, been _loved_ by someone before, and I don't want to tell you those three words unless I truly mean it. But, well, I think there's a chance. So..." he took a deep breath, closing staring deep into his new found crush's widened and tearful lavender eyes. "Would you... be my girlfriend?"

For a second, he worried that he was being too forward by asking such a thing, but all doubt faded from his mind as the beautiful girl practically threw herself at him, her eyes shining with happy tears as she held him for dear life.

"Yes... I... yes!" she managed to get out, as her vision and head blurred with all the wonderful feelings swirling in her head. An unladylike giggle escaped her lips, as she grew delirious at her love's brazen request, and as his arms wrapped once more around her nimble body and the two of them hugged for dear life...

… she fainted.

Noticing how quiet she was all of a sudden, Naruto gently shook her. "Hinata? Hinata-chan?" Gently tipping her face towards himself, he smiled at her sleeping face.

_'She's certainly cute when she's sleeping,'_ he thought. _'Well, might as well bring her home...' _

Mildly upset that they weren't able to go any further today, he was none the less ecstatic about the events of the day so far. And he definitely couldn't wait to see what would happen next with his new girlfriend!

"Girlfriend," he sounded the word out, savoring each and every syllable.

He couldn't remember ever being any happier.

However, as he began taking his new girlfriend back to the Hyūga compound, he failed to notice a pair of emerald eyes that had been watching from afar glistened with tears,not the happy ones that had graced his beloved, but tears of sorrow and loss.

Struggling in vain to stop the tears, Sakura Haruno curled up into a ball and wept.


	2. Chapter 2

This wasn't how Sakura Haruno planned it to be.

Ever since she was a little girl, she had wanted only one thing: to love and be loved by Sasuke Uchiha, Konoha's beloved prodigy child. She had dreamed to marry him, become Sakura Uchiha, and help him rebuild the Uchiha clan, the mere thought of which would make the girl blush like mad with giddiness. She planned dreamed that her life would be a fairy tale.

But reality wasn't so kind.

Sasuke left the village when they were twelve, abandoning her and all of their friends for one thing, the only thing he ever desired: Power. She had dreamed of helping her "Sasuke-kun" through the darkness, to be his light. But she was merely fooling herself.

Sasuke was driven by only one thing: Hatred. He didn't care for her, nor their friends, nor anyone in the village. No matter how much she screeched about how "cool" he was, he himself would not, nor would he ever, notice her. He was as he said he was: An Avenger.

Even after Sasuke left, Sakura still pined for him. She was _convinced_ that she was in love with him, that there was no other path for her heart to take. Even when Sasuke became a wanted criminal, even when he attacked the Five Kage Summit, even when Sasuke tried to _kill_ her, she remained convinced she loved him, that there was still some good in his heart that only needed the right person to bring it out.

But when she saw him once more... she didn't feel the happiness she was expecting. She didn't leap into his arms, or give him her heart, or beg him to love her. She felt... _empty_. As if he now meant nothing to her- and honestly, she was beginning to question if he ever truly did.

Not once had Sasuke shown any kindness, or any interest in her. He had never went out of his way to make her feel better, or shown that he even cared that she existed. To him, she was just an annoying pest that he got rid of as soon as he could.

… But not everyone thought of her that way.

From their first days at the Academy, Naruto Uzumaki had shown kindness to her and others. He went out of his way to try and make her feel good about herself. What's more, he _liked_ her. He had a huge crush on her for _years_, and yet...

She cast him aside. Treated him like garbage, like an annoying little pest that wasn't worth even noticing. Why? To be honest, she didn't really know. She only assumed that it was because everyone hated him. He was the town leper, the dirty little secret no one wanted to acknowledge. Throughout her foolish childhood, Sakura had never once questioned why she or anyone else treated him this way. She merely accepted that he was trash.

And yet, he was the kindest person she had ever met.

When she finally learned the truth about Naruto, of the burden he had to carry, of the treatment he had endured... she couldn't help but wonder why?

Why was Naruto so kind?

Why was Naruto always so cheerful?

How did Naruto never give up believing?

And how could he ever possibly like her, after everything she's done?

Sasuke's sorrows and problems were nothing compared to Naruto's, and yet Naruto always put on a brave face. He never succumbed to hatred or despair. He somehow emerged from the worst childhood Sakura could imagine as a better man than anyone she had ever met. He had managed to make his way through treatment that would have utterly broken her with a hearty smile and untold optimism.

And she loved him for it.

Yes, she couldn't hide from the truth any longer.

She, Sakura Haruno, was in love with Naruto Uzumaki.

She loved his heartfelt determination and overactive nature. She loved his unending optimism and unwavering commitment to help others. She loved his goofy grin, and his eyes that sparkled in the sun. She loved _him_. She knew that now.

And that's why she had been crawled up into a fetal position in a bush in Konoha Park for over an hour, crying like she had never cried before.

Because the boy, no, the _man_, she now realized she loved... was in love with another woman.

She wept silently to herself, cradled by the bush near where her hopes and dreams had been ripped apart. She had hoped to confess to Naruto today, to walk up to him and say she finally realized how much she needed him. She was certain that he would have given her a chance, after having pined for her for so many years.

But it was not to be. And all she had now was the utter pain of despair.

This was no fairy tale.

* * *

This _had_ to be a fairy tale!

Hinata was positively buzzing with happiness. Her lifelong crush and the love of her life had asked her to be his _girlfriend_! She... she was dating Naruto!

It was enough to want to make her run around her room and squeal like a schoolgirl. But she didn't really have time for that. After she woke up in her love's arms as he carried her unconscious body back to the Hyūga compound (a fact she was deeply embarrassed by- she had hoped she had gotten over her fainting!), the two of them had arranged for him to pick her up the next day at 5:00 for their very first date.

_'I... have a date... with Naruto-kun... today...'_ Her lips turned into a far off smile as she backed onto her bed, sighing in contentment.

_'I can't wait for tonight!'_

* * *

_'Gah! What do I do?!'_

Naruto was pacing around his room, struggling to think of _something_. _'Why didn't I plan this out better?'_

It had taken all of his will to work up the nerve to ask Hinata out, so much so that he didn't even think about what to do afterward! And now, he had to think about where he could take her for a date.

Ichiraku was definitely out- he didn't want to appear cheap on their first date!- but he didn't really know of any other places! _'Would a walk in the park be too cheap and cheesy? A picnic? No, I can't cook, and I can't ask her to do it... A restaurant? But what good ones could I get this quickly? Ah! This is so hard!' _

Falling back on his bed, Naruto took a deep breath. He needed to focus.

"Of course!" He shouted all of a sudden, sitting straight up. "Sakura!" _'She's a girl, she'd know what would be a good first date!' _Happy with this idea, he immediately got up and ran out his front door.

* * *

Sakura sighed. She hadn't gotten any sleep last night, even when she finally managed to get back to her own apartment. She had spent the entire night crying, mourning her loss and cursing Hinata.

Of course, deep in the back of her mind, she knew that Hinata wasn't really at fault, that she had her chance to win Naruto's heart but blew it, but logic and reason were useless to her now. The man she loved loved another woman, and she _was pissed_.

Just then, she heard fierce knocking on her apartment door. "Sakura-chan? Sakura-chan, are you in there?"

_'Naruto!' _she mentally exclaimed, before taking a look at herself. After having been crying all night long, she did not look ready to face him.

"J-just a minute!" she called, doing her best to hide her sorrows, before rushing into her bathroom. Taking a glance at herself in the mirror, she could tell she looked like a mess. Not wanting her crush to see herself like this, she splashed some water on her face and did some quick breathing exercises. Satisfied with her appearance, she put on her best brave face and went to greet Naruto at the door.

"Hey Sakura-chan!" Naruto greeted her as she opened the door, flashing him one of his trademark grins that gave her stomach butterflies.

Trying to calm her beating heart, Sakura responded, "Hey, baka! What are you doing here?"

"Well, uh..." Naruto blushed, poking his fingers together in a manner very similar to a certain girl. "I was wondering..."

"Yeah?" Sakura said, crossing her arms as she tried to maintain her composure. _'Why is he so nervous? Could he be...?'_

"Well," the blonde began, his nervous chuckles unknowingly causing the pink haired girl's cheeks to redden. "See, I kind of... have this date, and I needed some ideas about where to take her."

_'Of course,'_ Sakura mentally sighed. _'Why did I even dare to hope he was asking me?'_ Regardless, she put on her best brave smile. "Well, I'm sure Hinata would be happy with wherever you take her..."

"Wait, how did you know it was Hinata?" Naruto asked, his eyes widened in surprise.

_'Shit! I can't let him know I was spying on them...' _"Well, uh... it's obvious that she likes you, so I just figured it'd have been with her..."_ 'Smooth, Sakura.'_

Fortunately, Naruto was as clueless as ever. "Heh, I must have been the only one who didn't notice, huh?" He shrugged his shoulders in self-pity and let out a large sigh.

Sakura smiled at his antics. "Yeah, probably. But anyway, I think you two will make a cute couple," she nodded at him, her heart shattering into a million pieces with each word she said.

"Thanks, Sakura-chan," Naruto smiled at her, glad to have a friend like her. "So, yeah. Um, where do you think I should take her? I mean, I don't really thin Ichiraku would be a good choice for a first date. And, well, I don't really know of any other restaurants, heh," he chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head.

Sakura shook her head. "Honestly, Naruto, what am I going to do with you? _'Well, I know somethings I want to do with you...' _Her cheeks turned tomato red at that thought.

Noticing this, Naruto waved his hand in front of her face. "Um, Sakura-chan?"

Snapping back to reality, Sakura was incredibly embarrassed at that. "Um, sorry. Anyway, why don't you take her to a nice picnic on the Hokage Monument, overlooking the city, the moon shining behind you..." she sighed wistfully at the thought.

"Well, I thought of that," the blonde knucklehead admitted. "But I don't really know how to cook... heheh," he cheekily grinned at her.

Fighting back a fierce blush, Sakura just sighed and shook her head. _'I don't want to upset him... even as much as he breaks my heart.'_ "Alright, baka. I'll help you prepare your meal, but just this once!" _'Of course, if you wanted, I'd be willing to do it whenever you want...'_

Naruto instantly brightened at this news. "Really? Thanks, Sakura-chan! You're the best!" Before he knew what he was doing, he had wrapped her up in a big hug, not noticing how uncomfortable he made the poor lovestruck girl.

Letting her go, Naruto offered her another one of his trademark grins. "Alright, the date's at five, so let's get started!"

The two of them worked for a few hours to prepare Naruto's big date, Sakura struggling to maintain her composure and dignity throughout. Finally, they had finalized their plans, and Naruto had a big picnic basket ready.

"Thanks again, Sakura-chan!" Naruto grinned at her as he prepared to leave.

"N-no problem, Naruto-kun," Sakura nodded at him, and he turned to leave. Naruto left the apartment, but before he got to the stairs, he suddenly realized something.

_'Did she call me... Naruto-kun?'_

Meanwhile, back in the pink haired medic's apartment, she had gone back to her bed and curled up into a ball, not bothering to clean up the kitchen.

_'Fairy tales really don't come true...'_


	3. Chapter 3

Humming to herself, Hinata brushed her hair one last time. She did not want to make a bad impression. Not today.

_'Finally! A date with Naruto-kun!' _Hinata mentally squealed, smiling distantly into her mirror and blushing like crazy. Humming once more, she continued brushing her hair until a knock on the door startled her out of her fantasies.

"Hinata-sama?" her cousin called from the other side of the door. "Naruto-san is here for you."

The lavender haired girl's eyes grew wide, as she realized she didn't tell her family about her date! Deeply embarrassed, and fearful of their reactions, she gently put the brush down and went to open the door.

On the other side, she found her ever-serious cousin, Neji, with the faintest traces of a smirk "You did not inform me that you had plans with Naruto-san tonight," he gently chided her, in the stoic Hyūga manner.

Hinata, naturally, was redder than a ripe tomato. "Oh... um... yeah... See..." she stuttered out, turning her gaze downward as she suddenly found the floor very interesting.

Neji had to fight back a grin- such an action would have not been characteristic of him!- and merely continued half smirking at his blushing cousin. Deciding that she had been embarrassed enough, he decided to speak."As you know, my respect for the boy is beyond measure. However, if he, in any way, harms you, I will not hesitate to show him just what the Gentle Fist can do."

The stoic Jonin turned around, leaving his cousin appropriately speechless. He smirked.

"Oh, I forgot to mention," he said casually over his shoulder. "Hiashi-sama is on a diplomatic mission to Suna at the moment, and I'll be sure not to tell him when he returns. However, you might want to consider doing that yourself at some point in the near future."

Hinata's heart immediately dropped as she thought about asking her father to date a boy, let alone a clanless orphan like Naruto, even if he was a hero. Still, she was thankful for Neji's approval and help. She sighed in happiness.

"Hinata-sama?" Neji called back, breaking her out of her daydreams once again. "Naruto-san is waiting."

Startled, Hinata tried to shake off the blush that crept onto her face as she thought about having a _date_ with Naruto. Taking a deep breath, she followed Neji toward the entrance hall where Naruto was waiting.

* * *

Naruto took a deep breath. '_I can do this! I'm Naruto Uzumaki, Hero of Konoha and the Ninja World, and the future Sixth Hokage! I've taken on some of the most dangerous ninjas who ever lived and saved the Ninja World from the most powerful demon to ever exist! I can do this!'_

"N-Naruto-kun?"

The blonde knucklehead jumped in shock at the sound of his date's voice. Turning to face her, he blushed at the sight of what she was wearing.

He had always thought Hinata was cute, in a girl next door sort of way, but he had never seen her without those baggy clothes she always wore. True, her attire for the evening was suitably modest, a simple purple dress that extended to her elbows and her knees (Naruto did not expect nor wish for the shy heiress to act unlike herself, after all!) but it still showed a glimpse of the physique she tried so desperately to hide. He quickly composed himself, not wanting to act like a fool.

"Hey, Hinata-chan," he smiled at her, sending shivers down her spine. She took a brief glance at what he was wearing. Fittingly, he wasn't wearing anything too formal; in fact, it was exactly what he always wore! But she wouldn't let something like that get in the way... after all, this was her first date with Naruto-kun!

"H-hello, N-Naruto-k-kun," she responded, averting her gaze from his own. _'I can't believe this is happening!'_

Naruto chuckled nervously. "Well, uh, think we should go?" _'Smooth, Naruto. Smooth...'_

"Y-yes!" the girl replied, a little too excitedly. Embarrassed, she quickly covered her mouth with her hands.

Chuckling at her eagerness, Naruto simply grabbed her hand, bringing a blush to both of their faces. "Come on," he said, pulling her along with him out of the Hyūga compound. Blushing bright red, Hinata eagerly followed.

* * *

"Well? What do you think?"

"It's... beautiful..." Hinata honestly replied as she stared down at the village from the top of the Hokage Monument. She was star struck by the full moon and crystal clear sky above, despite it being too early in the year for that at this time of day, as well as the aerial view of Konoha before them as the town prepared for the night. She was even more amazed at the wide assortment of food laid out before them, despite knowing Naruto couldn't cook "How did you...?"

"Ssh... Just enjoy it," Naruto smiled at her, silently thanking Sakura for her cooking and genjutsu skills. He didn't know what he would do without her. Both he and his date eagerly sat down, and began eating their meal.

They were silent for a while, neither knowing what to say to the other. For a few minutes, they ate their food, silently stealing glances at the other.

_'He's a little too quiet... is he... is he not enjoying himself?' _Hinata wondered, dejected.

_'Can't believe I didn't notice how cute she was before,'_ Naruto marveled at her, enjoying every single blush and stolen glance. _'Just wish I had something to say...' _

He sighed, and dug into his ramen. Unfortunately, he wasn't thinking clearly, and began slurping it up as he was used to doing.

Hinata, however, wasn't mad. Far from it! In fact, she started giggling. _'He's so adorable when he's like this...' _

Hearing that magical sound, Naruto turned to face her. "Hm? Something wrong, Hinata-chan?" He gave her one of his trademark goofy grins, and Hinata couldn't help but give her a smile of her own.

"Nothing, nothing at all, Naruto-kun," she honestly replied, sighing as she enjoyed the moment. Laughing with Naruto, eating dinner with Naruto, spending time with Naruto, being on a _date_ with Naruto... This was all too good for words.

Naruto cheekily grinned at her, and the two of them continued to eat the rest of their meal in silence. Hinata soon had enough, but was more than happy to simply watch her love devour the rest of the food. She swooned as she saw him slurp up an entire bowl of ramen (of course, he had made sure there was an ample supply of his favorite food for this picnic!), shaking her head in contentment at his childish antics.

At last, Naruto finished slurping up his final bowl of ramen. Their meal finished, the two teens awkwardly sat next to each other, neither knowing what to say or what the other was thinking.

"I'm sorry, Hinata-chan," Naruto finally broke the silence, a downcast expression on his face.

"What? How come?" Hinata asked him worryingly, fear mixed in with her voice. _'Is... is he going to say he's not interested...?' _The mere _thought_ of that broke her heart into a million pieces. _'Please, no, don't say it...'_

"Well," her crushed sighed, averting his gaze from her. "I know you've been wanting this for a long time, but..." Hinata could feel the tears forming in her eyes...

"I... I screwed up," he sighed, turning to face her. "I didn't know what to do, and we just sat here the whole time without talking. I- I wanted our first date to be special, but I couldn't even find the words to say..."

"It's ok, Naruto-kun."

The blonde haired boy turned to face her, eyes widened at her as she stared at him with an unfamiliar feeling in her eyes. She reached out to grab his hands with her own, gently squeezing them.

"I'm just happy to be here with you," she said with complete conviction, staring lovingly into his azure depths. "I meant what I said back then. I love you, Naruto-kun. Even if you don't love me in return. I always will love you."

"Hinata-chan..." Naruto stammered, searching for a hint of falsehood or uncertainty in her lavender eyes, but could only find pure, undying affection.

Time seemed to stand still for the two as blue met lavender. All there was in that moment was each other.

Slowly, by some sort of unseen force, their faces began moving closer and closer, their heart rates rapidly increasing as they stared deep into the others affectionate eyes. Their hands interlocked, Naruto rubbed his thumb across Hinata's hand, marveling at how smooth it felt against him. Hinata swallowed, willing herself not to faint, not wanting to miss this sensation.

And then, finally, the gap was closed, and their lips met in their very first kiss.

It was gentle and sweet. Pure, and innocent.

But it was magical.

After only a few seconds, Naruto broke the kiss, leaving a bright red but immensely happy girl to smile blissfully. Naruto was certain that his own face was a similar hue to that of the girl he had shared his first real kiss with.

"Hinata-chan..." he whispered, sending chills down the girl's spine. "You're... so beautiful..."

Blushing fiercely, she smiled warmly back at him. "Naruto-kun..."

Remembering how good her lips tasted, and wanting to taste them again, Naruto bent down to kiss her lips once more. This time, the kiss was deeper, more passionate. Naruto deepened the kiss, not missing any inch of the girl's eager mouth. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her small and feminine body against his muscular and masculine body, not willing to let the beautiful girl in his arms go- not that Hinata wanted to.

Hinata had finally gotten what she had wanted for years. But she wanted more. Growing bolder, she wrapped her arms around her new boyfriend and pressed him to the ground.

Not missing a beat, Naruto rolled the two of them over so that he was on top. Hinata wrapped her legs around him, never wanting to let go. Lost in the passionate kiss, Naruto licked around Hinata's lips, begging for entrance. So entranced, she forgot to be embarrassed and eagerly let him enter her mouth, where their tongues engaged in the ancient dance of lovers. Lost in their passionate duet, they continued to make out.

Time seemed to grow still for the two as they learned more about each other than they ever thought possible. Minutes, Hours, Days. How long they were lost in the others embrace did not matter. All that mattered was that they had each other.

Neither of them were alone any longer.

Alas, even ninjas need to breathe. Reluctantly, they parted their lips, panting all the while. Hinata had ended up on top of Naruto, her legs wrapped tightly around his legs still, as the two lovers stared deeply into each others eyes. Smiling softly at each other, Hinata rested her head on Naruto's chest, cuddling up against him. The night air grew colder, but she didn't mind. She had Naruto to warm her up.

The two lay there for a time, neither saying a word. There were no words to be said.

However, after a time, Hinata sighed, causing the boy she was using as a mattress to stare at her with concern. "I'm sorry Naruto-kun... but I should probably get back home."

Naruto smiled warmly at her, unleashing a horde of butterflies through her stomach. "Alright, Hinata-chan. I'll see you home?"

Blushing bright red, Hinata nodded.

The new couple got up, neither noticing how dirty they were from rolling around in the dirt and picnic. In fact, they forgot to clean up after themselves, so lost in the other's eyes as they were. Reaching down to grab his new girlfriend's hand, Naruto gently squeezed it as the two began walking down the the path back to Konoha.

This was the best day of both of their lives.


	4. Chapter 4

Hinata woke up happier than she ever had been before. Still groggy from her best night's sleep in her life, it took her a few seconds for the Hyūga heiress to recall the events of the previous night. But as soon as it came back to her, she sat straight up in glee.

_'I... was on a date with Naruto-kun!'_ she mentally squealed, shaking in excitement at the mere thought. _'I... we kissed, I... made out with Naruto-kun...'_ she blushed a deep red at the thought, but was happy just the same. _'He- he called me _beautiful_!' _She could not resist letting out an audible squeal at the sound of it. Happy beyond measure, she got up to start her day

True, she was a bit disappointed that Naruto hadn't yet said those three words to her yet, but she knew he needed time to decide if he truly did or not. And no matter what, she would enjoy this time she had with him. Even if he eventually decided that he didn't like her like that (though her heart broke at the thought), she wanted to make sure that she was able to squeeze as much happiness out of their current relationship as possible. She blushed as she thought of her and Naruto exploring the more... physical side of their relationship. _'I just hope Neji doesn't pull through with his promise...' _

After she finished getting dressed, humming to herself all the while, she made her way out of the Hyūga compound. _'I hope I see Naruto-kun soon!'_

* * *

_'God, this is so boring!'_ Ino Yamanaka sighed, staring wistfully out the window for someone, anyone to come and liven up her day.

It's not so much that she hated working in her family's flower shop. Far from it, she had done it ever since her academy days and loved the opportunity to catch gossip on the latest couples and tease embarrassed boys who came into the shop with no clue what to do. But all too often, she was stuck there doing nothing, while her friends were able to spend all of their free time training and hanging out while she had to work, in addition to her ninja duties.

She sighed._ 'Would something interesting _please_ happen!'_ she pleaded silently.

As if like magic, her unspoken request was answered in a way she never expected: Naruto Uzumaki came waltzing in the door, looking as clueless as ever.

She raised her eyebrow. _'Well, this certainly is interesting...'_ She chuckled softly to herself. _'Looks like today might not be so boring after all.'_

"Hey, Naruto!" she called to her new customer, who seemed to jump at her voice. "Fancy meeting you here."

"Um, hey, Ino," he chuckled, scratching the back of his head nervously. The blonde gossip-queen of Konoha smirked at him like a predator watching her prey.

"What brings you here?" she asked, resting her chin on her hands, desperate to see who the Hero of Konoha was buying flowers for. She may have been a battle hardened ninja, but she loved a good love story when she saw one. _'This is so exciting!'_ the schoolgirl in her squealed.

"Well, I, uh, kind of needed something to give to a girl, and, well, I knew you had a flower shop, so I... yeah," he rambled.

Ino raised her eyebrow. _'So he does have a crush. Interesting... is he trying to make a move on Sakura?' _She didn't know quite how to think of that- after all, she knew all about Sakura's love on Sasuke (something that she herself was long over), but obviously she would need to move on now. Still, it might be a bit too soon for Naruto to make his move, though of course she didn't expect the knucklehead to know that. _'Ooh! This is so exciting!'_

"Oh? Anyone I know?" Ino prodded.

"Well, um," Naruto stuttered, growing intimidation by the blonde's interrogation. _'She's just like her old man,' he mentally sweatdropped.'_

"I'm not going to help you unless you tell me, Naruto," Ino chuckled, intensifying her piercing gaze at the boy. Naruto gulped.

"H-Hinata-chan," he squeaked out as a light blush covered his face, causing the blonde haired girl to raise her eyebrow.

_'Oh? Seems like Hinata finally worked up the guts...'_ she mused, before focusing again on Naruto. "Now, I know how you spent three years with that pervert, but Hinat's a sweet, innocent girl. And believe me, if you mess her up, you'll have more than her father to deal with. Do I make myself clear?" She stared intensely at her customer, sending him back a few inches.

"C-Crystal!" he managed to get out. _'Shit! I forgot about her dad! Hope he doesn't kill me...'_

"Great!" Ino clapped her hands together, back to her normal self. Well, her "romantic helper" self. "Now, about those flowers..."

Naruto never knew that Ino could be so... driven.

* * *

Hinata continued to hum as she walked down the street, not paying much attention to her surroundings as she searched for a certain someone. She had considered using her Byakugan to find him, but did not want to appear too eager.

"Hey! Hinata!" She immediately grew hopeful, but when she realized who had spoken those words she grew a bit disappointed. Not that she didn't like Kiba-kun, of course! She just wanted to see someone _else_ now.

"Oh, Hello, Kiba-kun," she bowed politely to her teammate, who was walking over to her with his ever-present companion, Akamaru, in toe. "Akamaru-kun." She nodded respectfully at the dog, who barked eagerly in return.

"What's up, Hinata? You forgot to go to our training session last night," the dog boy gently chided her, rubbing his elbow at her in a friendly fashion.

Hinaya immediately turned red at the thought that she had forgotten that she had a training session scheduled with Kiba and Shino the previous day. What's more, she remembered _why_ she had forgotten.

"Oh... well... Um... You see..."

"Hey! Hinata-chan!"

She instantly smiled warmly as she heard _his_ voice, and turned around to face his new boyfriend... who seemed to be holding a bouquet of flowers? She felt giddy at the sight.

"Hello, Naruto-kun." Hinata smiled back at him, willing herself not to faint at the sight of her love holding out a bundle of flowers toward her.

"Here, Hinata-chan..." he nervously chuckled, averting his gaze.

Hinata simply took the flowers from him, taking a sniff before smiling lovingly at her boyfriend."Thank you, Naruto-kun."

Kiba, for his part, was staring incredulously at the couple, shifting his gaze back and forth, before cracking a lecherous grin. _'Well, about time Naruto got himself a girlfriend. And Hinata's obviously happy. Of course, I better make sure that knows what _not_ to do...'_

Clearing his throat, Kiba alerted the other two lovebirds to his presence. They both refused to look him in the eye, guilty looks on their faces. Kiba put on his best "Big Brother" look.

"Ok, Naruto, now listen here," he barked at his friend, causing the boy to jump a little. "Hinata's like a little sister to me, so I need to make myself clear: If you touch her inappropriately, I _will_ neuter you. Ask Akamaru, he knows I'm serious." With that, he turned from the two and walked away, Akamaru trailing behind with an embarrassed look on his face. However, when he was certain neither of the two could see him, Kiba smiled.

"Um, sorry about that, Naruto-kun," Hinata apologized, breaking the awkward silence that had sprung up after Kiba's rather rash proclamation. Naruto simply sighed.

"Jeez, doesn't anyone think I can keep my hands to myself?" he lamented. "First Sakura-chan, then Ino, and now Kiba? Just because I spent three years with the Pervy Sage doesn't mean I'm just going to take advantage of you like that. I know not to do anything like that with you!"

Hinata found herself blushing deeply at the implication- _her_ with Naruto-kun, having... _'Of course, I wouldn't mind doing that with him,'_ she pondered for a second. When she realized what she had just thought, her already red face turned a deep shade of crimson.

Sure, she had had some thoughts of the kind while Naruto was away on his journey- she _had _been going through puberty, after all- and when he had returned, her dreams were filled with his smiling, handsome face, and his bulging muscles, and...

But that was all dreams and fantasies. To be here now, and so close to doing such an action with him, was too much for her to bare.

So she fainted.

"Hinata-chan? Oh crap, what did I do now?"

* * *

"Damn it, you baka! Can't you go ten seconds without causing this girl to faint!"

"I-I'm sorry, Sakura-chan, I don't know what happened! We were just talking, and then she-"

"Gah! You get on my nerves so much! Look, she's waking up, see?"

Hinata groaned as she woke up, the feeling of a park bench beneath her. The first thing she saw was Sakura's eyes as she stood above her, performing medical ninjutsu. Now, she never was very close to Sakura, but even she could see that the pink haired girl's eyes were much... _colder_ than usual.

"Hinata-chan! Are you alright?" Naruto shouted as he practically shoved Sakura out of the way, who simply "Hmphed" and looked away.

"I-I'm fine Naruto-kun," Hinata groggily replied as she sat up, Naruto being careful so as to not let her fall again. "Thank you, Sakura-chan," she smiled warmly at her boyfriend's teammate.

"Just don't let it happen again," Sakura smiled back at them, before turning to leave. However, Hinata was a master at reading people's emotions, but she didn't need her Byakugan to see that that was a forced smile.

Naruto, however, was as oblivious as always. "Yeah, thanks Sakura-chan!" he called after her, before returning to his girlfriend. "I was so worried!"

Hinata fought back the blush that instinctively came at hearing that Naruto-kun was worried for _her_. "It-it's ok, Naruto-kun. I'm fine." She sat up, rubbing her head.

"That's good," he sighed in relief. "Oh! Um, here." He reached next to the park bench and pulled out the bouquet of flowers which had been resting there.

"Thank you," she smiled warmly at him, taking a deep sniff of the violets. "I love them!"

"I'm glad," he rubbed the back of his head, before turning to the side. An awkward, but pleasant, silence took the air.

"So..." he finally said, breaking the silence. "You want to go do something?"

"Y-yes!" Hinata said, before blushing at her obvious eagerness. "Um... like what?"

"I dunno, anything you want to do? Heh," Naruto nervously rubbed the back of his head.

Hinata blushed at the thought of the two of them, rolling around in the dirt, making out with each other reentered her mind. _'I wouldn't mind doing that again...'_ she mentally sighed dreamily. _'But I don't want him to think that I'm too easy or improper... Plus, it seems a lot of people have been making it clear to him not to touch me like that...' _She frowned at the thought of everyone getting into her business. She was a Chūnin of Konoha, legally an adult! She should be allowed to have sex with Naruto if she so chooses!

Shocked at where her thoughts were going, she immediately shook hem from her head.

"Hinata-chan?" Naruto worriedly asked, setting his hand on her shoulder.

_'Come on, think of something...' _she thought, trying to think of something Naruto would enjoy. Naruto... Ramen...

"I-I wouldn't mind some ramen..." she offered, and Naruto's eyes seemed to widen up like a little kid.

"Alright! You're the best, Hinata!" he shouted, and pulled her in for a hug. "Come on, let's go!" He grabbed her hand, not noticing her lightheartedness, and she clutched firmly to his hand with one of her own while holding the bouquet of flowers with her other one. However, despite how happy and light-headed she was, she couldn't help but think back to Sakura.

_'Was... was she jealous...?'_


	5. Chapter 5

Naruto quickly devoured his seventh bowl of ramen, and didn't have time to apologize for the mess he made before he leaped into his eighth bowl. Hinata couldn't help but giggle at her crush's antics. No, her _boyfriend's_ antics. This thought brought an even larger smile to her face.

"Honestly, Naruto," the old man in charge of the ramen shop chided the boy. "You ought to show _some_ manners, especially when you bring such a lovely lady with you."

Blushing bright red at the compliment, Hinata shook her head. "N-no, I don't mind..." she insisted, but Naruto seemed to take the old man's advice to heart.

"Sorry, Hinata-chan," he apologized, eyes cast downward as he finally realized just what a scene he was making. However, he was surprised when Hinata just started giggling. She just couldn't help herself! He just looked so _cute_ when he was pouting... or smiling... or, well, ok, he was cute all the time!

"It's, alright, Naruto-kun,"she managed to get out in between a fit of giggles. "I don't mind."

Naruto stared in awe at his new girlfriend. "Y-you sure?"

Her smile widening, Hinata replied without thinking. "I love you just the way you are."As the couple processed that, they turned away from each other in embarrassment.

Naruto _knew_ Hinata loved him. She had told him as much! He just... he wasn't sure if he loved her back yet, and he didn't want to tell her that without meaning every word. But how else was he supposed to reply to that?

Hinata, meanwhile, was mortified that she had said that again. True, she had told him that before, on two occasions actually, but she didn't want to appear needy or anything! Sure, she wanted him to say those words- oh, God, how she wanted him to say those words- but she didn't want to force him to it, or worse, scare him off! Her heart clenched at the thought.

Teuchi simply chuckled at their actions._ 'Ah, young love,'_ he shook his head, before leaving the two to their very uncomfortable silence. Neither of the two teenagers paid much attention to his departure.

"Hey! Naruto! Hinata!" A familiar voice broke them out of their awkward silence, and they turned to face a smirking Tenten and a... _youthful_ Lee running up to them.

"Uh, hey guys," Naruto cheerfully waved as his two friends skidded to a stop near Ichiraku.

"So Neji was right after all," Tenten smirked, causing the two to flinch. "You two are finally dating. Congratulations. "

Before either of the two could respond to that, Lee had already thrown his arm around Naruto's shoulder. "Yosh! Congratulations, my friend! Hinata is a fair flower that, I'm sure, you will greatly enjoy plucking!"

At this, his three friends all stared incredulously at the Green Beast, blushes adorning their faces as they tried to figure out if Lee _actually_ said that. Finally, Tenten spoke.

"I... I don't think he even knows what he's talking about sometimes."

"But of course! This also means that my chief rival for the affections of the lovely Sakura is taken! Now that I am alone in my struggle, I shall make sure to show her the burning passions of my youth!" he shouted, a renewed fire glowing in his eyes. Naruto and Tenten sweat dropped, while Hinata was too embarrassed to do even that.

"Come on, Casanova. Let's leave this two alone before you cause Hinata to faint," Tenten sighed, dragging her teammate away. "Well, have fun you too! Just... not in that way. See ya!" With that, Tenten dragged Lee, still ranting about god knows what, away from the blushing couple, who were simply stunned into silence.

"Heh. We have the strangest friends, don't we?" Naruto chuckled as the two faded from view, rubbing the back of his head. Hinata could only nod her head in agreement.

The two were able to finish their lunch in relative peace. After Naruto paid for their ramen and said goodbye to Teuchi and Ayame, he and his girlfriend left the stand, both still too embarrassed to talk to the other.

As they continued to walk down the street, Naruto continued to sneak glances at his new girlfriend. He couldn't help but notice how _cute_ she looked when she was blushing like that! _'Why did I never notice her before?'_ he silently lamented. Hinata, for her part, continued to stare in admiration at the boy she loved. The boy she now believed she might have a chance with. She was too happy for words.

Finally, the silence got to be too much for the boy. "So, uh, Hinata," he said, drawing them both to a stop. "What do you want to do now? Heheh," he chuckled nervously. He didn't know a damn thing about women! The most he ever learned about them was from the Pervy Sage, and somehow he didn't think that his lessons would come in handy in situations like these.

Hinata blushed red. She knew what she _wanted_ to do, but could she say it?

"Well, um," she nervously stuttered out, pressing her fingers together in embarrassment. "We-we could do, um, boyfriend girlfriend stuff... like, um, k-kissing..." she all but whispered as she suddenly found the ground very interesting.

Naruto perked his ears up, unable to believe that the shy and sweet Hinata could say such a thing. However, it wasn't long before a lecherous grin appeared on his face. Before Hinata knew what was happening, Naruto had grabbed her hand and started to drag her away. Hinata could only hold on tight as he dragged her to god knows where, giggling all the while.

* * *

Naruto and Hinata finally came to a stop out in a training field just on the outskirts of the village. Naruto let go of the flushed girl's hand, which he had held firmly onto the entire time he was dragging her along with him, and the two teenagers stood there, both unsure of what they should do.

Naruto took the first initiative, awkwardly wrapping his hands around his girlfriend, pulling her lithe frame up to his chest. He cradled her back with his hand, pulling her chin up to have her gaze meet his with the other. He wasn't too sure what he was doing, but he could tell from Hinata's smiling face and sigh of contentment that she liked it.

Encouraged by this, Naruto gently lowered his mouth to hers, and pulled her in for a gentle kiss. Hinata eagerly replied, moving her lips in tandem with his as they tied to make sure they didn't miss a single inch of the others mouth. As the kiss continued, Hinata gently wrapped her own arms around his blond, shining hair, pulling him deeper into her mouth.

The kiss remained sweet. It did not regain the passion or lust of their heated kiss from the night before, both participants relishing in the silent joy and comfort of the others lips. They could feel the love, the affection that they had so desired all their lives burning through the others lips. For a time, that would be enough.

They sat down, their lips never losing their fierce grip on each others. Naruto gently cradled Hinata in his lap, one hand cradled around her waist and the other holding her hand affectionately. They continued their kiss as they cuddled up to one another, content for once in their lives.

* * *

Sakura growled in distaste as she walked through the streets of Konoha. She didn't really know where she was going. All she could think abut was Naruto, sick with worry over his precious _Hinata-chan_.

She just didn't know how to deal with it. All her life, Naruto had been _obsessed_ with her, even when she refused to even acknowledge his existence. And he had never even noticed Hinata that much! So why was he so obsessed with her now?

How could Naruto just toss his best friend and teammate aside for some girl he barely even knew?

She clenched her fist tighter as she stomped through the crowd, not caring about who was in her way. And everyone else on the street wisely avoided the very pissed off kunoichi storming past them.

"Hey, Sakura-chan!" a very loud voice called from afar, and, like lightning, Rock Lee zoomed in right in front of the medic ninja.

Not really wanting to talk to anyone, Sakura still forced herself to calm down and give her friend her best big smile. "Hi, Lee. What's up?"

Rock Lee's teeth miraculously sparkled in the sunlight. "I merely wanted to ask you out on a date!" he boldly declared, extending his arm to give a thumbs up right in Sakura's face. "What do you say?"

Sakura considered this offer. _'I know I love Naruto, but he's with Hinata, so maybe it's best to try and get over him... Then again, it wouldn't be fair to Lee if I'm just using him as a backup and if I'm just thinking about Naruto the whole , well, he is kind of scary...' _,Another reason was that part of her still wanted Hinata to break up with Naruto so that she could have him to herself, but she didn't dare admit that, even to herself.

"I'm sorry, Lee," she said, as kindly as she could. "I'm not really looking for a boyfriend or anything right now."

For a second, she could have sword she saw sadness on the ever youthful boy's face, but if it ever existed, it was swiftly replaced by a look of utter determination. "Alright! Then I must prove my worth by the time you decide you are ready! And in order to do that, I shall run one hundred laps around the village- on my hands and knees!" With that, the green clad lad ran off to begin crawling around Konoha.

Sakura sighed to herself. _'Should I have just accepted his offer? But I'd just feel like it's cheating on Naruto... but he already has a girlfriend! Gah! Stupid baka!'_

Clenching her firsts as tight as they could go, she stormed off. She needed something to hit.

* * *

_'This is perfect.'_

That thought resounded through both Naruto and Hinata's minds as they lay in the grassy field, cuddling up into the others warmth. Hinata's head rested on Naruto's chest, his arms wrapped protectively around her content body. Neither knew how long they had just been cuddled up together after they had finished kissing. Neither cared.

Hinata could not believe how well the past two days and went. It just felt all like one big dream! One delightful, magical dream that she never wanted to wake up from.

Naruto, for his part, could not believe how beautiful his girlfriend was. His girlfriend! He had a girlfriend! What's more, she _loved_ him! Unconditionally! He wanted to say that he loved her too- he _desperately_ wanted to- but he wasn't too sure yet if he actually loved _her_, or just loved being loved. And he _was_ sure that he didn't want to tell her unless he knew he loved her.

But she was making it very easy for him to love her.

Hinata buried her head deeper into his chest, inhaling his musky odor with the happiest look he had ever seen. Naruto smiled.

Oh yeah. She was _definitely_ making it easy for him to love her.

The two continued to cuddle, blissfully unaware of the world around them. However, a shadow of a thought entered Hinata's mind, and she viewed it best to tell her boyfriend about it.

"Naruto-kun," she whispered, still snuggling her head into his chest.

"Hm?" he responded, rubbing his hand through her long, flowing hair.

"There's something... you should know..." she nervously stated, taking comfort in his shirt.

"What's wrong, Hinata-chan?" he worriedly asked, all ears.

"Well... at the moment... he's out on a business trip... but when he returns, you'll probably need to ask my father for permission to date me..."

Naruto froze at the sound of that.

_'Shit.'_


	6. Chapter 6

_'Shit. Shit shit shit!'_

Naruto paced back and forth the width of his apartment, sweat racing down his forehead._ 'How the _fuck_ am I supposed to explain this to Hinata's dad?' _

He may not have been the smartest ninja in Konoha, but even he knew the Hyūga were the most traditional and esteemed of all the ninja clans in the village. They sheltered their daughters, and carefully guarded their innocence against unwanted and unworthy suitors. As Hinata was the daughter of the head of the household, this would go double for her.

And Naruto had just made out with her behind her father's back.

It's not like he was the unwanted demon brat the village didn't like to talk about anymore. He was Naruto Uzumaki, the strongest ninja in the village and Hero of the Ninja World! He should be able to convince a man to let him date his daughter... right?

But he was also an orphan without a clan. Sure, he might be the son of the Fourth Hokage, but he didn't have much wealth or a noble title- things that mattered greatly to a time honored traditional clan such as the Hyūga.

Furthmore, Hiashi Hyūga was one of the most powerful members of the Konoha Council. If Naruto pissed him off adequately enough, then Hiashi had enough sway to potentially hurt Naruto's chances of being elected Hokage!

This thought stopped Naruto in his tracks.

"Not... be Hokage"? He whispered out loud. Ever since the old man told him what a Hokage was, being Hokage had been his dream. He wanted that job _so_ much, though his intentions weren't always pure. For a long time, he wanted it just so people would respect him. He associated being Hokage with being acknowledged, but he now knew that was no longer the case. In a strange turn of events, it was Itachi Uchiha, one of the worst criminals in the history of the village, who finally got him to realize that.

No, he no longer wanted to be Hokage to be acknowledged. But, then, why did he want to be Hokage? To protect his friends? His loved ones? He already could. He already was more powerful than pretty much anyone in the world. He didn't need to be Hokage to protect them. No, he realized now that his lifelong goal of being Hokage was just a childish dream.

Of course, he would still accept the job- he still wanted it, after all, and he could tell Grandma Tsunade was getting tired of it and looking to off it on him as soon as possible. Furthermore, the number of people who believed he should become Hokage had pretty much grown to include the entire village by this point. But it wouldn't be the end of the world if he never became Hokage.

After all, he had Hinata-chan now.

He blushed at the thought of the pale-eyed beauty that had been occupying his thoughts ever since the end of the war. Was she really enough? Was she worth sacrificing his lifelong dream for?

_'Yes!'_ He immediately thought. _'She loves me! That's all I need!'_

But was it? Was Hinata's love worth hurting his chances of becoming Hokage? And furthermore, was _he_ sure he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her?

And as he thought of her shy smile, her long hair, her cute blushes, he could only think of one response.

_'Yes. I think so.'_

* * *

"CHAAAAAAAAA!"

With yet another one of her powerful punches, Sakura ripped right through another tree, toppling it to the ground. Without missing a beat, she powered up and punched through the tree again, ripping it into pulp.

The training field looked like a wasteland, filled with fallen trees and craters. Sakura had been here all night, trying to work her anger and frustration out the only way she knew how. And she was still going strong, without showing any signs of stopping. With another kick, she smashed through another rock, mentally picturing that she was ripping through Hinata's _adorable_ smiling face.

_'Damn that girl!' _she mentally hissed, as she charged up another attack. _'Fucking Hyūga princess!'_

All her life, she had lived in the shadows of clans. True, her parents might have been decent ninjas in their own right, but the Harunos always had to live in the shadows of the established clans. Almost all of her classmates were born into powerful clans, while she had to work for everything she had.

Sure, she had wanted to marry Sasuke for most of her life and restart the Uchiha clan... but such thoughts were behind her now. All that she could think of was Hinata Hyūga, heiress to the largest clan in the village, having everything she could ever want. Including Konoha's Hero.

Deep in the deepest depths of her mind, she _knew_ she was overreacting. She _knew_ Hinata was the sweetest, gentlest, kindest girl she had ever known, that she had done nothing wrong besides love a very lovable man. She _knew_ that Hinata deserved Naruto _much_ more than she herself did.

No, what she really hated was herself.

Time and time again, that blond haired baka had gave her the chance to be something more. He had always chased after her, begging for her to give him a chance. But she had always rejected him, always pining after her "_Sasuke-kun_". And in so doing, she lsot perhaps the only chance she ever had of finding true happiness.

Somewhere, deep in the overwhelming hatred she felt for the Hyūga princess, was the realization that she had brought this on herself.

The next tree stump she blew to pieces, she imagined to have pink hair.

* * *

Hinata squeezed her boyfriend's hand gently, giving him a warm smile.

Naruto returned the smile in appreciation, and squeezed her hand back. Taking a deep breath, he mentally prepared himself for what was to follow._ 'It's ok. I can do this.'_

Tsunade had obtained word that Hiashi and Hanabi were on their way back from their meeting in Suna, and had immediately told her favorite ninja so that he get ready himself for the encounter.

Naruto and Hinata had been dating for three days now. Pretty much everyone in Konoha already knew about their relationship. All of Naruto's friends seemed to be happy for the two of them, and were leaving them well enough alone. He could have sworn that Tsunade was almost in tears when he told her. Almost as if she were his real grandmother, watching her little guy grow up... Kakashi-sensei, for his part, had even offered to let him borrow his collection for Icha Icha, in order to "prepare" him for the relationship and associated acts. Naruto was very red when he turned his sensei down.

To Naruto's surprise, quite a few of the girls of Konoha were less than pleased at the end of his bachelorhood. Unbeknownst to him, it seemed that after he had saved the village from Pain, a rather large portion of the female population, both shinobi and civilian, had developed a substantial crush on the gifted shinobi. To say this was a huge shock to him wold be an understatement. After all, no one had told him he loved him until Hinata, and he had trouble believing _that_. To find out that a large number of females around the world had started having romantic feelings toward him was quite a hard pill to swallow. And, while he used to be jealous of Sasuke's legion of fangirls (many of whom were now his _own_ fangirls, even after making his days at the Academy as painful as possible), actually having them was a very different story. Fortunately, he had Hinata, and not many fangirls were willing to go toe to toe with a master of the Gentle Fist.

The Hyūga, meanwhile, were more difficult to read. Naruto was certain that Neji was happy for the two of them, while the rest were as stoic and held back as ever. At least they weren't trying to break the two of them up, like Naruto feared.

Now, it seems the only person who didn't know was her father, Hiashi Hyūga, one of the most powerful ninjas in the village, on both the battlefield and political halls. At least, for now.

However, he was coming back to the village soon. And as much as Naruto didn't want to face him, he knew it was the right thing to do. What's more, he had to do it. He couldn't hide this from him forever.

So for now, he and his girlfriend were in the meeting hall in the Hyūga compound, awaiting his arrival. Neji had promised them that he would not tell the patriarch of their relationship so that Naruto could present his "iron clad defense", but honestly, Naruto did not know what his defense would be. He hardly knew the man! All he knew was that he used to be very strict and distant from his daughter. Would that translate to not allowing him to date Hinata? He really had no clue what was going to happen.

All he could do now was hold onto Hinata's hand and hope.

* * *

Hiashi Hyūga mentally shook his head as he reentered the Hyuga compound, Hanabi trailing behind him, sulking. To say he was disappointed in his younger daughter would be an understatement.

Ever since she was young and he had seen his older daughter falling behind, Hiashi had trained Hanabi to eventually take over as clan head. But though she was, in theory, the ideal Hyūga: calm and cool, as well as a child prodigy in the Gentle Fist; she was much too self obsessed and detached from those of "lesser" status. He was now coming to realize that he may have made a mistake all those years ago.

_'The world is changing. The fierce competitiveness between the clans and villages of the past is giving way to a new age. Perhaps it is time to accept that gentleness and compassion are much greater attributes for a leader to have than coldness and steel will.'_

Yes, Hiashi was reconsidering allowing Hinata to reclaim her birthright as clan head.

It was not as if she was the weak little girl she used to be, at any rate. She had proven herself to be quite the formidable fighter, having mastered her own variation of the Gentle Fist. Furthermore, she had displayed great courage when going up against the Akatsuki member who had destroyed the village, even when she knew she had no chance, and had, in many respects, paved the way for Uzumaki to defeat him once and for all.

_'A good leader should always admit when he was wrong,'_ he mentally sighed, before turning back to Hanabi and giving her a stern look. "Hanabi. We shall discuss that in further detail at another time. Wait for me in your quarters."

Cringing at the tone of her father's voice, Hanabi nonetheless complied and stormed off in a very un-Hyūga manner. Hiashi sighed, before continuing into the main hall of the Hyūga compound. _'I believe it's time I have a talk with Hinata.'_ Making up his mind, he began to go towards Hinata's bedchambers.

However, Neji got to him first. If Hiashi were a less composed man, he would have raised an eyebrow at his nephew's uncharacteristic smirk. "Neji? Is something the matter?"

Fighting back a grin, Neji simply replied, "Hinata-sama is waiting for you in the meeting hall, Hiashi-sama." With that, Neji simply walked away.

_'Hm? He already wanted to see me? What is the meaning of this?' _Hiashi made his way toward the meeting hall, pondering the odd looks that his clansmen gave him as he passed. Was that... fear?

Nevertheless, he continued onward, simply ignoring the curious glances that were sent his way. Opening the door to the meeting hall, he saw quite the unexpected sight.

"Uzumaki? What are you doing with my daughter?"


	7. Chapter 7

"Uzumaki? What are you doing with my daughter?"

Hiashi raised his eyebrow at the sight that awaited him when he opened the door. Naruto Uzumaki, Hero of Konoha and of the Fourth Great Ninja world, was in the Hyūga compound with his daughter... and holding hands?

Naruto nearly paled at the sight of his girlfriend's father staring at him with his cold eyes, but willed himself not to. He gently squeezed Hinata's hand, reassuring her, as well as himself, that everything would be alright.

"Hiashi-sama," he declared, tying to be as respectful as possible. He did _not_ want to piss him off, after all. "I am here to request permission to date your daughter."

Hiashi was never one to show much in the way of emotions, but he widened his eyes at the blonde's bold request. However he managed to stifle that emotion as quickly as possible, refocusing himself to be as cold and calculated as he usually was.

Turning his gaze onto the boy, the clan head hardened his eyes. However, Naruto refused to flinch, which merely caused his girlfriend's father to intensify the stare."Oh? Is that so? Hiashi calmly asked, never loosening his gaze from the determined teen who remained unflinching.

"Yes, Hiashi-sama," Naruto replied, trying to portray an air of confidence he did not actually feel. "I realize this is a brazen request; however, I do feel strongly about your daughter, and I know that she feels the same way toward me."He steadied himself. "So please, I implore you to at lest consider allowing me and Hinata to-"

"Let me ask you something, Uzumaki."

Naruto stopped his tirade, a bit surprised to see the Hyūga elder interrupt him like that. Hiashi Hyūga simply glared down at him.

"If I were to forbid you from seeing my daughter, would that stop you from doing so anyway?"

Naruto and Hinata both blinked, shock to see the ever unreadable man with a... smile? It was faint, sure, but both could have sworn that they saw it.

"Um... I guess not, sir, heh," Naruto honestly replied with a nervous chuckle, scratching the back of his head with his free hand while retaining his grip on Hinata's hand with the other.

Hiashi suppressed a smile. Such an act would be very much unlike him, after all. "You are a fine shinobi, and the most likely candidate for the Sixth Hokage. Furthermore, you have helped many people in this village see things in a better light, myself included. You have my blessing, such that it is."

Naruto and Hinata stood there motionless for a brief moment as they processed this. "F-Father!" Hinata shouted out when she finally realized this, and threw her arms around him. Hiashi was shocked at first at his daughter's brazen action, but soon allowed himself to gently return the hug.

Naruto, meanwhile, was stupefied. _'That... went a lot better than I expected.' _

Hiashi, for his part, was actually quite happy for his daughter. _'Uzumaki, eh? Quite the interesting choice. But I suppose he has proven himself to be more than worthy, and there are many worse men my daughter could have fallen for.'_

Of course, now that he thought about it, he supposed he should have seen this coming. After all, he _was_ the head of a clan known throughout the ninja world for its visual prowess. He wasn't blind. He knew his daughter had a crush on the Uzumaki boy. In his weaker years, this had only further solidified his distaste for her.

But his daughter had much better eyes than he did, or anyone else in clan, or even the village for that matter. She could see the promise in the young man long before anyone else could. Not only that, but he had helped her grow stronger, a duty that he knew should have been his as her father but yet he failed spectacularly at.

More than that, Naruto had saved the entire world- not only from the Fourth Great Ninja War, but also from the hatred in their own hearts. All his life, the people of the village had shown the boy hatred and fear, and yet, where a lesser man would have given in to his darkest desires, Naruto had forged ahead, makin piece with everyone, even the demon in his own heart. Not only that, but Naruto had helped him see the true duties of a clan head- to protect his people, not enslave them. It was due to the Uzumaki's influence that he was able to face his own brother again and make peace with him.

Yes, this boy would do nicely for his daughter.

When his daughter let go of him, embarrassed by her action, Hiashi cleared his throat.

"That being said, this does pose a slight problem," Hiashi declared, rubbing his temple as he thought hard. Noticing his change in demeanor, the two teenagers waited with a slight apprehension to see what the problem was. Hiashi sighed. "Come with me."

Without another word, he turned around leaving the two teens to follow him. Turning to each other, they nodded and did so.

* * *

Hiashi sat down at his desk in his study, motioning his daughter and her boyfriend to sit down opposite him. He placed his hands on the table and stared at the couple.

"Now then," he began, staring unflinching at the two. "As I'm sure you're both aware, Naruto is generally regarded as the unquestionable choice for the Sixth Hokage."

Naruto's eyes widened. This had been his dream all his life, and one of the most powerful men in the village essentially declaring it to be a fact? He felt closer to his dream than he had ever been, and honestly, he wasn't too sure how to feel about that.

"However," Hiashi continued, "You are currently courting the daughter of one of the most powerful clans in the village. Should this relationship grow to be more than it is," he paused to take a breath, not seeming to take notice of the flushed faces of the teens who thought of the implication of that statement. "Other clans might see this to be an unfair advantage to the Hyūga."

"So, are you saying I can't date Hinata-chan?" Naruto blurted out, forgetting protocol. However, Hiashi seemed to dismiss it.

"Not at all. Remember, I have already given you two my blessings," he nodded at them, and Naruto visibly relaxed. "However, Hinata," he turned his attention to his oldest daughter. "I have recently come to the realization that I made a mistake all those years ago. I see now that Hanabi is in no way capable of taking the leadership of this clan, and was thus reconsidering allowing you to take your rightful place as clan head."

Hinata's head warmed with this knowledge. _'Me, as clan head? Father... Father wants me to be clan head? _A strange sense of happiness came through her as she thought about this. Her father accepted her now!

"However," Hiashi continued, breaking Hinata's train of thought and bringing her back to the real world. "Should you become clan head, and then should you marry Naruto, then the head of the Hyūga would be married to the Hokage." Once again, he did not take notice of the blushed faces. "However, other clans might see this as granting unfavorable treatment to the Hyūga. This would potentially cause problems for both the Hyūga and your position as Hokage."

"But, are you sure about that?" Naruto interrupted.

Once again, Hiashi did not seem to mind the interruption. "While you may be friends with many of the future clan heads, you must remember that you answer to the clans, not just their leaders. Should the Hokage marry the head of one clan, there would be no stopping the other clans from claiming nepotism. Furthermore, the council would not allow such an arrangement. All clans must get equal treatment from the Hokage."

Taking a moment to gather his thoughts, Hiashi asked Hinata, "And so, Hinata, what it comes down to is that you must make a must decide which you'd rather have: your position as clan head, or Naruto."

Hinata did not even need a moment to think. "I choose Naruto-kun."

Hiashi nodded his head, while Naruto looked at Hinata with awe and admiration at her willingness to throw everything out just to be with him. "I thought as much," the head of the Hyūga sighed, before creasing his forehead with his hand as he thought. "However, this does raise the problem of who should be clan heir. As I do not believe Hanabi to be fit to take up this role, and you are renouncing your right, that will leave us short an heir..."

Hinata thought for a moment, before coming up with an idea. "Father? If I might make a suggestion, there may be someone else who can be the next clan heir..."

* * *

"Me? Are... are you certain, Hiashi-sama?"

"You are a strong Hyūga, and an ever stronger man. You have more than proven your worth. I have no doubts that you are fit to take the position of Clan Head."

"But... I'm a Branch Member..."

"Recent events have changed us all, my boy. Labels such as Branch Family and Main Family are no longer necessary."

""I-I See. Thank you, Hiashi-sama."

"I'm sure you will do your duty admirably... Neji-sama."

With that, Hiashi got up and left the room, leaving his stunned nephew to stare into nothing.

_'Me... Clan Head?'_ Such a thing was inconceivable! He, who had long loathed his fate as a member of the Branch family, to have risen to the top and become clan head? He had long since accepted his fate, to be content with his life as it was, but this? This was... unexpected.

Neji gently raised his hand to his forehead, to touch the place where the Caged Bird Seal still was forged into his skin. However, for once in his life, it didn't feel as heavy. In fact, it felt as if a terrible burden had been lifted off his shoulders, and, for once in his life, he was able to fly free. He smiled.

It would seem that he had bested fate.

* * *

"Did you hear the news?"

"That Hiashi-sama removed Hanabi-sama from the position of clan heir, and gave it to Neji-sama?"

"A Branch member, the head of the Hyūga? I never thought I'd see the day!"

"Well, Neji-sama is a very talented and powerful ninja. I, for one, believe this to be a great choice of Hiashi-sama's behalf!"

"Hopefully this will help ease the tension between the Main family and Branch family."

"I wonder what Neji will do with his new found title?"

"I just hope he doesn't make too many rash decisions. Things are changing so quickly around here that I can hardly keep up with it all."

"What about Hinata-sama? Why was she not asked to be the heiress"

"Hiashi-sama approached her, but she rejected the title to be with her beloved, Naruto-sama!"

"Oh, that girl's always let her emotions lead her. It's unfitting of a Hyūga "

"Maybe, but maybe it is time we rethink the way things have been done. Besides, Naruto-sama would be quite a good match for her."

"Times are certainly changing..."

Hanabi sulked to herself as she walked through the Hyūga compound garden, trying to ignore her gossiping clansmen. _'How did it come to this?'_

She had lost her title as heiress to the Hyūga clan. Her sister had been offered the position but refused it, and instead it had gone to their cousin. A Branch member.

She had lost what had been promised to her.

Clenching her fists tightly and grinding her teeth, she left the Hyūga compound.

This was not her fate.

She would _not_ allow this.


	8. Chapter 8

Neji did not know what to feel as he walked down the street. Once more, his hand idly returned to his forehead.

There was no mark there.

He... he had been unbranded of the Caged Bird Seal.

He was no longer a member of the Branch Family.

And now... he would be able to change that outdated rule.

His fate was in _his_ hands now.

"Neji!" his teammate screamed, and he turned toward him with a slight irritation.

"Hello, Lee-san. Tenten-san," he nodded in turn to both of his teammates as they rushed toward him.

"So... it's true," Tenten marveled as she gazed at his forehead, seeing it free and uncluttered.

"Of course! I would expect no less of my eternal rival!" Lee yelled, giving Neji a thumbs up.

Neji cleared his throat, and swiftly returned his forehead protector to cover his forehead and where his seal used to be. "Yes, well, if you're done gawking at my forehead, I would like some time to myself..."

"Oh, hell no!" Tenten screeched at her squad mate. "You are coming with us!"

Neji's forehead pulsed. "I do believe I've made myself clear, so- hey! Watch it!"

"Sorry, Neji!" Lee screamed as he grabbed his friend and began pulling him down the street. "But a most glorious occasion such as this requires us to celebrate!"

Tenten shook her head as she watched her boys leave, Neji ranting at the ever-youthful Lee. Smiling nonetheless, she toof off to follow them.

* * *

"Are you sure this is what you want, Hinata-chan?" Naruto timidly asked his girlfriend.

It was later that night, after Hinata had renounced her claim to clan heiress and gave it to her cousin, Neji, and the pair was now sitting on a park bench awkwardly. Naruto knew that the Hyūga were in safe hands, but he could not help but feel guilty that Hinata had given up what she had always wanted for him. He thought he was ready to give up his chance at being Hokage for her, but to see her give away her birthright for him so freely? He wasn't too sure how to deal with that, to be perfectly honest.

"I'm certain, Naruto-kun. To be quite honest, I never really felt like I even wanted the position of clan head. I just... I just want to be with you," Hinata turned crimson red, and averted her gaze from her boyfriend and the love of her life.

Naruto stared at his girlfriend for a few seconds, before pulling her into a hug, washing himself in her feelings. He knew she loved him, and he knew he _wanted_ to love her. Hell, he might already. But... he wanted to know for sure. He wanted to know that she was the one.

If only he knew how to figure that out.

Regardless, for the moment he simply allowed himself to hold onto his girlfriend as they sat on the park bench, drowning his entire being in her love.

* * *

"I can't believe Hinata just gave up her title as clan heiress like that!" Ino practically shouted, vividly moving her arms to express her surprise as her ex-ex-best friend sat seemingly bored on the other side of the cafe table.

"Girls do crazy things when they're in love, Ino-pig," Sakura sighed, hoping to maintain her air of boredom so that her rival didn't see where her true feelings lie.

"Oh? Like back when we were crazy fangirls chasing after Sasuke?" Ino teased the pink haired girl, hoping to bring her into the conversation more. However, Sakura simply glared at her with a fierce gleam in her eyes.

Ino gulped a little, having forgotten what a sore spot that was. "Right. Sorry." The two were silent for a moment, the memories coming back. Or at least that's what Ino thought it was.

"It's fine," Sakura said after a while.

"Do you... do you still...?" Ino couldn't even finish her sentence.

Sakura sighed."What's done is done," she declared, as if that settled it.

Ino, however, wasn't finished yet. "I just," she sighed, shaking her head. "We were so dead set on him that, well, we neglected to look at anyone else. And, well, here we are," she chuckled humorlessly.

"Are you getting at something?" Sakura snapped at Ino, glaring with an intense fury at her.

Ino blinked in surprise, but that soon turned into a look of mirth."Why are you getting so defensive? Perhaps, our little forehead has a crush on someone?"

"I don't have a crush on anyone!" Sakrua almost yelled, drawing attention from around the cafe to their table. Ino and Sakura ignored them.

"Really?" Ino appeared unconvinced. Nonetheless, she seemed to drop it. "Well, anyway, I think-!"

"Hey! Sakura-chan! Ino!"

_'Just who I wanted to see,'_ Sakura mentally grumbled to herself, while her and Ino turned to greet their friends. "Hey, Naruto! Hianta!" she waved as she smiled lightly at the two, trying not to show her real reaction toward the two as they walked toward them hand in hand.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Konoha's favorite couple," Ino greeted the two, a teasing smirk on her face as she reveled in the reactions she so easily got from the two. "And how are you two doing?"

"Great!" Naruto brashly yelled, turning to face his new girlfriend with quite possibly the biggest smile he had ever smiled. "Right, Hinata-chan?"

Hinata smiled, that sort of dazed off smile off into nowhere as she began to dream about what she and her Naruto-kun had been doing. "Yes, it's been..." _'Magical? A dream? Better than you could ever have imagined?'_ "Very nice. Naruto-kun and I have been having a great time together"

"Well, then what are you two doing here now?" Ino's smiled as she continued her taunt, her mirth growing by the second. "I mean, shouldn't you two be somewhere, eating each others faces?"

Naturally, Naruto and Hinata could not hold back their flushed looks after Ino's very lewd suggestion. Jus as Naruto was going to retort, Sakura suddenly stood up.

"I'm sorry, I just remembered I had somewhere to be," she hurriedly stated, and rushed out of the cafe before anyone had a chance to stop her.

"Huh. She's not usually forgetful," Naruto said without a clue, though the other two girls looked at her with entirely different expressions. Hinata with sadness, and Ino with awe.

_'Could it be...? Is forehead... _jealous_?'_

* * *

Sakura slammed the door to her apartment and rushed straight into bed. Slipping into her covers, she Finally, she let the tears flow out.

For a few brief moments, she was alone in her sorrow, crying away the pain and depression, cursing the day she had ever fallen in love with that gorgeous blonde. However, as luck would have it, the door flew open.

Ino's eyes widened at the sight of her friend, whimpering away under the bedsheets. _'I didn't think it'd be this bad...' _"Hey... forehead?" she asked, worriedly.

Sakura did not respond.

"Hey, Sakura," Ino continued undeterred, dropping the playful taunts for now as she slowly made her way over to the bed. "Are you alright?"

"Go away, Ino-pig!" she yelled from her makeshift prison. However, the blonde refused to leave.

"Come on, Sakura. I just want to talk."

"Fuck off!" Sakura shouted, stunning her friend with her use of profanity. However, Ino quickly collected herself, and continued to make her way over to her friend.

"Come on, Sakura," Ino pleaded, sitting on the edge of her friend's bed, causing the pink haired medic to retreat further into her covers. Ino frowned in sadness as she heard the soft whimpers coming from her friend. "Talking will make you feel better.

Still, stubborn girl refused to come out of her covers. However, Ino did not want to leave her alone, not like this. So, with ninja reflexes, she grabbed the sheets and pulled them off her friend, leaving the crying girl plainly visible for her to see. Ino let out a small gasp as she saw her friend's disheveled appearance.

Sakura turned toward the invasive blonde, glaring distastefully at the girl who would just _not_ leave her alone. "What you you want?" Her voice was hoarse as she glared daggers at the Yamanaka.

"You love him, don't you?" Ino said, bluntly.

Sakura stared blankly at Ino, so stunned by her friend's statement that she forgot to be mad at her. And, just like that, her rage gave way to tears once again. In an instant, Ino was by her side, having pulled her friend into a hug and whispering comforting words into her ear. For a bit, the two remained like this, neither saying anything more.

However, eventually the tears seemed to stop, and Sakura pulled away from her friend's embrace. "Sorry, Ino-pig..." Sakura chuckled humorlessly, refusing to stare at her in fear of dying of embarrassment.

"Don't be, forehead," Ino frowned, turning to face her distraught friend. "So... do you want to talk about it?"

Sighing in defeat, Sakura relented. "I just... I just can't help it. I know I've been horrible to him for a long time, and that I'm lucky he even wants to be my friend after all that I've done to him while chasing after Sasuke, but I just can't help it! I... I finally realize just how much he means to me." With that, she burst into another fit of sobs.

Ino reached over to pat her shoulder in understanding. A few short years ago, she would have laughed at the very idea of anyone having a crush on Naruto, let alone falling in _love_ with him. But that was before. Before he defeated Pain of the Akatsuki. Before he became a great Ninja. Before he became the hero of the world.

No... he was great before that. He was always great. It's just no one was able to see it bfore. The pain he had to endure, the pain she helped cause, chilled her to the very bone. And yet, he managed to pull through with a smile, not surrendering to his hatred, and doing the unthinkable many times over. Honestly, Ino could almost see _herself_ falling for the blonde idiot. But she wouldn't dare do that to Hinata.

And now Sakura loved him too? After all this time Naruto had pined for her, even back when Sakura hated his guts, Ino could almost laugh at the way things had turned out. But she dared not do that. She didn't want to make it any worse for her friend.

"I just..." Sakura continued, gritting her teeth. "I know I shouldn't hate her, that I should wish them the best. But..." Her jaw clenched, her hands rolling up into fists. "I can't help it! I just _hate_ her!"

Ino stared at her friend in silence. Honestly she didn't quite know what to say. What could she say? Her friend was obviously emotionally charged. All that she could do now was be here for her.

Finally, Sakura took a deep breath and let go of her anger, at least visible. "I'm sorry, Ino-pig," she sighed. "I know Hinata's a sweet girl, and all, but..."

"You just don't want to let him go," Ino finished for her. Sakura nodded weakly in response.

The two sat there for a minute, Sakura trying to calm herself down, Ino trying to think about what to say. She didn't want to make things worse, after all.

"Heh," Sakura chuckled humorlessly. "You probably think I'm just some lovesick fool, don't you, Ino-pig?"

She was greeted by a small smile in return. "Of course not. You may be lovesick, but you're no fool. You just need to learn to get over him."

Sakura sighed in despair. "I don't think I can."

Ino and Sakura just sat there in silence for a brief while, neither knowing what to say.


	9. Chapter 9

Hinata hummed blissfully as she walked hand in hand down Konoha market with her beloved boyfriend. There wasn't anything really in particular that they were looking for today, but she didn't mind. She was just happy to be with _her_ Naruto-kun. The fact that he had bought her a flower for her hair was just icing on the cake, as far at Hinata was concerned.

Happier than she had ever been before in her life, Hinata wrapped her arms around her boyfriend's arm and clung tight, burying her face in his shoulder and rubbing her cheek against it with a happy sigh. Naruto smiled warmly down at the beautiful girl who was clinging to him for dear life.

Completely wrapped up in one anothet, the two continued on their merry way through the market, neither noticing the shadow following them.

Hanabi frowned to herself as she watched her sister and the town's hero prancing around the town like a couple of love sick puppies. Those two had taken the one thing promised to her since she was little, the one thing she _truly_ deserved, only to throw it out like it was nothing onto some worthless _branch_ member.

This required payback.

Smirking evilly to herself, she continued hiding where they could not see her. Her time would come.

* * *

Hanabi sighed regretfully as she lay in her bed, wondering just how to break those two up. She needed revenge, she just didn't know quite how to do that.

Just then, she heard a voice from outside her bedroom door, from out in the hallway. "Hanabi-chan? May I come in?"

_'Well, speak of the devil...'_ "Yes, Hinata-chan. Come in," she called out to her sister as she got up from her bed.

Hinata walked in her room, dressed in her Shinobi uniform. "I was just called out for a mission. If Naruto-kun arrives, could you please tell him I'm not available?"

Hanabi nodded in approval, then bowed to her sister. "Of course, Hinata-chan."

Hinata smiled warmly at her, happy to have such a wonderful sister. She was a bit saddened at not being able to see Naruto-kun until she returned, but at the same time excited at being able to go on another mission. _'If only I could go on a mission with Naruto-kun...'_ she mentally sighed, dreaming of being alone with him, under the starlight, cuddling up to him for warmth...

Back in the real world, Hinata smiled at her younger sister in her oh-so-innocent way, before rushing off to meet her team. Hanabi grinned wickedly as she watched her "dear" sister depart.

_'This could be interesting...'_

* * *

The sunlight broke through the window, alerting the sleeping boy of the hour. Yawning and stretching, he got up out of bed relatively quickly (for a teenage boy) and walked over to the bathroom.

As he showered and got dressed, he grinned widely as he thought of his lovely girlfriend. He decided to go and visit her, and spend the day with her once again.

As soon as he was ready, he made his way out of his apartment with one of his trademark grins and began walking toward the Hyūga compound, trying to figure out where he could take Hinata-chan to today.

_'Today would be a good day,'_ he thought blissfully to himself.

As he made his way down the street, he saw someone he vaguely remembered, though it took a few seconds for him to remember just who exactly she was. Once it clicked he waved toward his girlfriend's sister. "Hey, Hanabi-chan!" he called, grinning wildly.

Hanabi resisted the urge to show anger toward the object of her disdain. Assuming her Hyūga grace and posture, she bowed to the boy she had sworn vengeance on. "Greetings, Naruto-sama," she managed to get out without letting an of her venom show.

Naruto just rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "Gee, no need to be so formal," he laughed, still not used to being called Naruto-sama.

Hanabi forced herself not to snort at his demeanor. "But you are the hero of Konoha, as well as my sister's suitor. It is only natural that you would be called as such."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Naruto chuckled nervously, wearing a big grin all the same. "So, anyway, I was just going to go see Hinata-chan..."

"I'm afraid I can't allow you to do that, Naruto-sama."

Naruto blinked in confusion. "Huh? Why?"

"I'm afraid I can not allow you to see Hinata-chan today," Hanabi stated simply.

"Wh-what?" Naruto asked, confused. Why would Hinata not want to see him today?

"She has left on a mission, and we are unsure when she shall return."

Naruto looked disappointed for a bit, but swiftly grinned in relief. "Oh well, that's the life of a ninja. I'm sure she'll kick ass on her mission!"

_'I had hoped he would be a bit madder that she did not tell him herself..._' Hanabi mused in her head, but merely bowed respectfully in the real world. "I apoligize for my sister's carelessness.

Naruto shrugged it off. "No biggie. I'm sure going to miss her, though." He smiled distantly as he thought about his girlfriend. Hanabi resisted the urge to puke.

"Well, I'm afraid I have business to attend to," Hanabi said.

"Hm? Oh, ok, talk to you later then, Hanabi-chan!" Naruto waved her off with one of those irritating grins of which she had learned to hate so much. Without uttering another word, she made her way away from that fool.

_'Well, now what can I do, now that Hinata-chan's gone?'_ Naruto thought as he watched as his girlfriend's sister leave. He thought for a moment, before he started laughing. _'Of course! I haven't been training ever since I started dating Hinata! I should probably get on that. Don't want her to to put me to shame.'_ With renewed vigor, he rushed off to his team's training field.

* * *

With another furious yell, Sakura shattered yet another tree into splinters. Panting a bit after her long workout, she soon was ready and prepared herself for yet another punch...

"Hey! Sakura-chan!"

She could feel her heart nearly stopp as she heard _his_ voice. Slowly, as she tried to maintain her composure, she turned to face him, trying to ignore the butterflies fluttering in her stomach as she gazed upon that damn gorgeous grin of his. "Naruto? What are you doing here?"

"Same thing you are," he grinned at her and gave her a great view of his pearly whites, forcing Sakura to have to resist the urge to jump him. "Training. It is, after all, our training field. Though, it seems like you've pretty much ruined the place," he whistled as he took a glance at the training field- or rather, what was left of it, so full of broken logs and rocks and craters as it was. He would _not_ enjoy having to clean it all back up. "Jeez, Sakura-chan, you really did a number on this place, huh?"

Sakura nearly let out an eep. "Well, you know, we always have make sure that we are always at our best... heh," Sakura chuckled nervously, hoping that Naruto didn't get the real reason she was so pissed off.

Fortunately for her, he was as adorably clueless as ever. "Yeah, you're right. I guess I have been slacking off on my training lately, what with spending all my time with Hinata-chan," Naruto frowned at his own carelessness, and Sakura felt her heart plummet at the sound of _her_ name.

However Sakura forced herself to have a brave smile. "So, why aren't you two together right now? I mean, I hardly see you two apart these days." Try as she might, she couldn't help but let a little bitterness into her voice.

Not noticing, Naruto sighed. "She's got a mission. Dunno when she'll back back. But I guess I have been nglecting you and the others, huh?" he chuckled.

_'Hinata's gone? Interesting... Maybe I could... NO! I can't... do that... Gah!'_ "Well then, baka. Care for a little sparring match?" _'Maybe I can work out a little aggression on him...'_

Naruto raised his eyebrow in concern. "Are you sure, Sakura-chan? I mean, I don't want to hurt you..."

Sakura's forehead twitched in frustration. "Oh, come on, baka! I'm not just some weak, helpless little girl! I can hold my own against you! Don't act like you're superior to me or anything, you dumb baka!"

Blinking in surprise, Naruto soon came to agree with her. "Alright, Sakura-chan," he agreed, his smile instantly calming her down. "Let's see just what you can do!"

Without any other warning, he rushed at her. With seconds to spare, Sakura grabbed his fist as it was just about to make contact with her face. With a twist, she pulled Naruto from where he was standing and threw him the opposite direction.

Naruto stifled the shock that initially crept up when his friend got the beat on him, and rolled through the air to land on his feet several yards away from Sakura. Without missing a beat, he rushed at her, shouting, "SHADOW CLONE NO JUTSU!" and conjuring up two clones as he continued to rush at her.

As the three Narutos rushed at her, Sakura prepared herself for the oncoming onslaught. Bracing herself, she charged up her fist and punched the ground, causing the earth to crack beneath them.

Surprised by this move, one of the Narutos slipped as the ground cracked beneath him and vanished. The remaining two Narutos, however, were able to leap over the rupturing ground. The two of them prepared to charge up Chakra in Naruto's signature attack, before yelling "RASENGAN!" as he aimed the attack at Sakura.

The pink haired medic, however, was too quick, and back flipped to get out of the range of Naruto's attack. As the Rasengan hit the ground, Sakura launched herself at the Naruto not holding the Rasengan. The two scuffled through the air and rolled around on the ground nearby, eventually placing Sakura above the Naruto clone in a compromising position. Sakura felt a blush creep up onto her face as she realized the position they were in, but managed to suppress it as Naruto vanished from beneath her.

Getting up, she turned to view the final Naruto rushing head on at her. Readying herself, she threw a punch at him as he rushed toward him...

… only for him to vanish. It was another Shadow Clone!

Sakura looked around in confusion, wondering where the real Naruto had gone. She had seen him summon only two Shadow Clones... Unless... He had summoned three Shadow Clones and teleported himself elsewhere!

_'Grr... Where are you, you stupid piece of man meat?!' _she mentally growled to herself, looking around to try and find him. _'If only I had the Byakugan, then I'd... No! Don't need that! Hinata needs that! I can beat him without that fucking eye!'_

Nodding to herself, she prepared herself to chase after him, but he was faster than her. Leaping from a fallen log, he drove a kick into her back, sending her flying into a rock.

"Oh shit! Sorry, Sakura-chan!" Naruto asked worriedly as he rushed over, cursing his own strength. Rushing over, he rolled her over so that she was staring up at his face.

"Oh..." Sakura moaned, hardly believing that she had been beat that easily. Groggily, she opened her eyes, allowing her to stare straight into the worried blue oceans that were Naruto's eyes. Needless to say, her face instantly became flushed as she stared into his penetrating blue depths.

"Are you alright, Sakura-chan?" he asked, before taking notice of her red face. "Are you sick?"

_'Leave it to the baka to misunderstand,'_ she thought bitterly, before trying to get up. However, Naruto held her down.

"No, not yet, I need to make sure I didn't hurt you," he said, and Sakura could not help herself from blushing. Seeing him there, fawning over her, torturing her with those perfect baby blue eyes of his, was almost more than she could bear.

"Sakura? What are you doing?"


	10. Chapter 10

Sakura blushed furiously as she stared at her crush's beautiful blue eyes. She could hardly believe he was staring down at her with a caring and concerned look that she could feel her heart melting. Her grasp of reality faded away as she looked at his intoxicating aqua depths, and Sakura did not know how much longer she could hold on.

Delirious with both love and lust, she began raising her head, eager to claim his lips for her own...

"Sakura? What are you doing?"

Sakura did not hear his cry of confusion, or perhaps, she did not want to. Instead, so enraptured by his gorgeous eyes, she continued raising her lips, until she gently captured his lips in her first ever kiss.

Narutos eyes widened in shock as his best friend and longtime crush kissed him. He hesitated at first, unsure of what to do. Sakura took advantage of this fact, wrapping her arms around his head, pulling him deeper and deeper into the kiss, intending to force him to respond in kind. Naruto did not want to admit it, but Sakura's lips on his face felt much better than Hinata's ever did. He resisted at first, not wanting to give in to his base desires, but the beautiful girl beneath him was making it so hard! Soon enough, Naruto could no longer hold back the raging hormones inside of himself, and returned the kiss with full vigor.

Sakura moaned blissfully into the kiss as she felt Naruto finally return the favor. His tongue swiftly enter her mouth and begged her tongue for a dance, and Sakura could not find the heart to refuse him. Their tongues began dancing the ancient duet of lovers as a fire unlike either of them had ever seen before was lit.

Naruto gently lay Sakura back down on the ground from the position they were in where he was cradling her, and climbed on her so that he was lying on top of her. Sakura wrapped her legs around his body and squeezed tightly, not intending on letting him go. Ever.

The kiss grew more passionate, both of the two controlled by lust as they began holding the other tighter, their tongues in a never ending battle for dominance. Lost in utter delight, Sakura crept her hands into Naruto's shirt and began massaging his back, her smooth and nimble fingers tracing every last toned muscle up and down the hunks spine, sending shivers up throughout the teens body.

The kiss soon proved to be too much, however, even for youthful ninjas such as themselves, and both lovers regretfully discovered that they still needed to breath. The two broke the kiss, panting as they gazed into the others eyes. Naruto stared down at the girl, amazed at what was happening, and struggling to comprehend it.

"Sakura, I..."

But the pink haired medic would not let him have the chance to question his actions. Not when she was this close. Before he could say another word, he felt her lips on his neck, tracing up and down from his jawline to the base of his shoulders as she tried to drown him in her love.

Naruto grunted in a strange mix of pain and pleasure, as Sakura bit into his neck, marking him as her own. After giving him his hickey, she gently kissed it, soothing the tiny pain that he felt at her lustful act.

No longer content to simply endure what the pink haired beauty threw at him, Naruto moved his hands to Sakura's butt cheeks, giving them both a gentle squeeze. Sakura stopped kissing Narutos neck for a moment to moan softly, giving the boy above her a chance to assert his dominance.

Without another word, Naruto moved his hands up from Sakura's butt cheeks and up her shirt, caressing her back as she was doing to him. He lowered his lips to her neck, returning the hickey she had given him with one of his own. Hearing his lover let out a gasp of delight, Naruto began kissing down her jawline to the base of her neck.

His wandering hands, meanwhile, continued to explore Sakura's back, exploring every inch of her taut flesh. His hands crept further and further up his spine, until he felt a thin strand of cloth. He stopped.

Sakura looked up at the blonde haired goof, seeing how his face had turned crimson red when he touched her bra. She smiled up at his frozen and unmoving face.

"It's ok," she smiled at him, and, as if to confirm it, she reached down to the hem of her shirt and began pulling it up. She giggled a little as she saw his eyes bulge as he stared at the retreating garment, feasting in every new inch of flesh. Finally, the treasure was unveiled: her breasts, moderate yet beautiful, entrapped by a pink bra. Sakura threw her shirt aside.

"See anything you like?" she smirked mirthfully at the lustful boy. In answer, Naruto simply threw himself at her. His hands groped her caged mounds, his lips once more kissing along her jawline.

"Oh... Naruto!" Sakura moaned as her the blonde bombshell gave her breasts a nice gentle squeeze, his tongue gently teasing the hickey he left earlier. Her hands went for the hem or his shirt, and she slowly began tugging it up, eager to see him in all of his majesty.

Reluctantly, Naruto broke the kiss and let go of her breasts as he felt his shirt get in the way. Sakura pulled up the shirt and threw it to the side haphazardly, allowing her to see his torso in all of its glory. She marveled at his ample abs, his chiseled six pack, the bands of sweat dripping down every muscular curve...

_'God, he's gorgeous.'_

With unbridled lust, Sakura launched herself at Naruto, sending the two of them tumbling over, as she began groping his well defined chest herself. Without missing a beat, Naruto continued his fondling of her breasts, locking his lips with hers as he became overwhelmed by passion. The two continued making out as their wandering hands fondled the others chest, neither consciously thinking about what they were doing. They simply were lost in lust.

At last, Naruto could take no more: he ripped Sakura's bra in half and tossed it to the winds. He swiftly moved his lips to capture her nipple and began sucking on it. Sakura moaned lightly as she felt her love's wet lips around her erect nipple, and wrapped her arms around him, never wanting to let go.

Naruto was like a kid in a candy store as he played with his lovers nipples, moving from one to the other while fondling the lonely breast with his hands, Sakura holding him tight all the while. From one breast to the other, he moved, taunting and teasing her, and Sakura did not know how much longer she could hold back.

At last, her desires got the better of her. She gently pushed Naruto off of her wet nipples, pushing him to the ground. With hands hastened by pure desire, she pulled down the boy's pants, allowing his impressive bulge to spring free in his boxers. Entranced, yet determined, she pulled down the boxers as well, leaving his endowment free for her to admire.

Naruto gawked at Sakura, who was practically salivating at the sight of his manhood. He felt his face heat up to degrees previously unknown to him as she stared at him like a bitch in heat. Frozen by her lust, he simply waited for her to make her move.

Finally, with trembling fingers, Sakura reached out and grabbed his length. Letting out a startled gasp as it throbbed in her hand, she began stroking it.

"Oh..." Naruto moaned lightly, as he felt her nimble fingers massage his manhood. Encouraged by this, Sakura decided to take things a step further. Naruto's eyes shot wide open as he felt Sakura's tongue on his lower head.

The pink haired medic twisted her tongue around the blonde's tip, gently sucking his head. Naruto gripped the ground tightly as the sensation got to him. With another kiss on his head, she let go of the erect member, and began trailing kisses down his length to his balls. She kissed each one in turn, she gently sucked each lightly. The blonde let out a pleasurable hiss at this, thrilling her greatly.

She stopped sucking both of his balls, ignoring his dissatisfied moan, and began trailing her tongue up his measurable length, licking it from base to tip.

After licking up and down the length a few times, she decided to take things a little further. As she reached the top, she did not go back down- instead, she swallowed the head, beginning to suck on the tip.

The beautiful boy groaned in pleasure as she began expertly sucking, her tongue twirling around the length as she began sucking more and more of his impressive member into her mouth. Naruto could hardly believe the pleasure he was feeling from this, his very first blowjob, and his hands moved to her pink hair and began pushing her down, begging her to take more of him. Sakura smiled against his length.

She had him.

Eventually, the pleasure grew to be too much for the poor boy. "I-I'm coming!" he shouted, warning the girl of his impending climax. However, even after he let go of her hair, Sakrua kept sucking, wanting to taste him, all of him.

To show him just how much she wanted him.

Naruto held back desperately, wanting to prolong this feeling as long as he possibly could, but no one could last forever, and he soon hit his limit. "S-Sakura!" he yelled, as he let loose his load into the girl's willing mouth. Sakura let it roll around her mouth for a little while, savoring the taste, _his_ taste. And then, she swallowed.

Naruto looked down at her in awe, amazed at his longtime friend having indulged in such a sinful act with him. She smiled sultrily back at him in return as drops of his seed fell from her lips.

Unable to contain himself anymore, Naruto threw himself at the girl, who shrieked in delight at his unabashed eagerness. Grabbing her shorts, he ripped them off, followed shortly after by her panties. Now, the two were completely nude, aside from Sakura's gloves.

Naruto gazed down at her womanhood, salivating at the sight of her treasure cove. Sakura fought back the blush that instinctively came to her face, enjoying how her love was just as interested in her as se was in him. Naruto was hard again within seconds.

Seeing that he was ready, Sakura decided now was the time for the clincher. "Naruto, fuck me," she whispered.

Naruto's eyes widened, initially shocked at this brazen request, but that soon faded, and he smiled down at her. "Ok," he whispered, sending chills down the girl's spine.

Carefully, he positioned himself on top of her, aiming his manhood right in front of her wet womanhood. He paused there, not wanting to rush into what he was sure was her first time, as well as his.

Sakura, however, wasn't so patient. "Please, Naruto-kun," she whimpered, begging for him to claim her.

But Naruto would not be so kind. "Please, what? Tell me what you want to do." he teased. "I want to hear you say it."

Sakura stared incredulously at him, furious that he was denying her what she so wanted. But if he would force her, then so be it. "I want your cock inside me, you fucking baka!"

Satisfied at her answer, Naruto captured her lips with his in a searing kiss as he thrust his length inside of her.

Sakura had lost her hymen years ago, during a training exercise, and was a battle hardened shinobi, but the initial pain was still great. She focused on the kiss, trying to numb herself from the pain, while Naruto just waited, not wanting to hurt her.

But Sakura was not a rag doll. "Move, damn it!" she cursed as she broke the kiss. Satisfied, Naruto began thrusting.

The initial pain soon gave way to indescribable pleasure, as Sakura made love to the man she loved. Each thrust sent chills up her spine, and she knew she never wanted this to end.

Still, she was a ninja, and she did not want to let him be in complete control. Easing her mind to the ending pleasure he gave her, she managed to conjure up enough will to flip the two of them over so that she was on top. She began moving up and down his member, taking control of the situation.

Naruto gazed up at the beauty now riding him, her breasts flopping up and down every time she traveled his length, mesmerizing him. Her womanhood grew tighter around his member, constricting him, as she screamed in an ecstatic euphoria. He raised his hands and grabbed her hips, squeezing her butt cheeks again. Sakura, for her part, grabbed her breasts and gave them a squeeze, giving her lover a show as they fucked each other senseless. For a time, the only sound in the field were their grunts of pleasure and the sound of flesh colliding with flesh.

But the sensations soon grew to be too much for the both, and, in time, they both reached their peak. They could feel their climax approaching...

"NARUTO!"

* * *

"NARUTO!"

Sakura cried out as she felt her climax approaching. After her intense orgasm, she lay panting in her bed. She removed her hands from her panties, staring with an unbelieving look as she saw the sticky fluid on her fingers.

_'I... masturbated to him.' _She felt incredibly guilty, having never masturbated before then, not even to Sasuke in all her years pining after him. And whats more, it was to her best friend... who had a girlfriend. She did not know if she could face him again.

Then again, their last encounter was awkward by itself...

* * *

"_Sakura? What are you doing?"_

_Sakura realized what she was doing, and froze her head. She was going to _kiss_ him! She cursed her own inability to control her hormones._

"_Get off of me, you baka!" she hissed, pushing him off of her. "I, uh, I need to be somewhere," she shouted at him as she took off, leaving a very confused Naruto behind her._

* * *

She needed to control her hormones. She knew that. Sh couldn't go on living like this.

But she knew there was no way out of it. Her love loved another woman, and she would never be able to have him.


	11. Chapter 11

A sunny day, warm and cheery. However, a certain hero of the Shinobi World refused to get out of bed this beautiful day, opting instead to lay motionless on top of the covers.

Naruto Uzumaki lay in his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He sighed. He could not remember ever being this bored.

It was strange, just how much he had come to _need_ Hinata. For years, he thought of her as just that weird girl, always stuttering and blushing. Never once had he bothered to take a closer look. Never once had he bothered to notice _why_ she was always stuttering and blushing.

But now, the more time he was spending with her... well, the emptiness he felt inside from being separated from her showed just how much he _needed_ her. He did not know how much longer he could last like this. And as for the question he had wanted to answer concerning her, well, he was more and more sure of what his answer would be.

_'Soon. Soon, I think I'll be able to tell her... and then...' _

Naruto sighed in happiness. Smiling one of the biggest smiles he had ever smiled at his good fortune, one that he still had trouble believing was his, he returned to the land of dreams once more, his thoughts consumed by lavender eyes.

The days seemed to flow by, and still there was no word from Hinata. Naruto did not know what to do with himself, and was still laying in his bed, bored completely out of his mind. He even went to Granny Tsunade to request a mission in order to try and get his mind off her, but there were just no missions available for him.

He would have used this as an opportunity to catch up with his friends, whom he now realized he had been neglecting ever since he started dating Hinata, but they all seemed preoccupied. Kiba and Shino were with Hinata on her mission, something about tracking down a rogue ninja who escaped with a valuable scroll. Neji was busy with clan duties, getting ready to take over the Hyūga clan. While their squad mate was away, Gai-sensi had dragged an ever youthful Lee and a reluctant Tenten on a "training camp", which gave Naruto shivers just thinking about it. Shikamaru and Chouji, meanwhile, were busy with their fathers on some "male bonding" trip. As for Sakura, Ino had drug her off for some "girl time", whatever that was.

Naruto frowned as he thought of his pink haired teammate and best friend. Something was definitely up with her. After their spar a few days prior, she had run off all of a sudden, and ever since then it seemed like she was avoiding him. And it was driving him crazy! He really didn't know what was up with his best friend, but what he did know was that he didn't like seeing his friends upset, and was very concerned he might have done something to offend her. But try as he might, he couldn't think of anything he could have done that she would take offense to. Well... more offense than she would usually take to what he says, at any rate.

With a heavy sigh, he got up off his bed. _'Well, might as well go train for a bit,'_ he mentally grumbled. As he got up out of bed, the humor of the situation hit him like one of Lee's kicks. He was neglecting his training! He could hardly believe that he was so enamored by his lovely girlfriend that he would hesitate to train. Then again, he supposed he could not help himself. _'I just hope Hinata-chan comes __back soon,'_ he added with a wistful look as he imagined her warm smile and pale skin, marked only by her ever adorable blush. He audibly sighed, lost as he was in in his thoughts concerning his own personal princess.

_'I have it real bad, don't I?'_

* * *

A gentle forest, peaceful and calm, with an evening sun high overhead. Birds chirped in happiness as they went about their daily business. The land felt natural. One might even call the place serene.

However, the idealistic peace was soon broken as three shadows flew across the treetops, sending the birds scattering across the winds in confusion. The former members of Team Kurenai, now under de facto leadership of Shino Aburame, was well on it way to capturing the missing nin known as Tomoki and retrieving the scroll he had stolen.

"Target just turned ninety five degrees, southwest," one of the three shadows informed her two squad mates as they neared their target, and she began picking up the speed to catch up with the new trajectory.

"Affirmative, Hinata," Kiba nodded in agreement, as he also sped up. He had picked up the same differentiation in their target's movements himself, but could never speak up against the girl he thought of as a little sister.

"Remember to keep a low profile, you two," Shino reminded his teammates, his voice as emotionless as ever as he continued to leap from one tree branch to the next at the new speed. Kiba rolled his eyes at the man he thought of as a brother's trademark seriousness.

"Yeah, I'm sure you could tell us all about that," Kiba muttered under his breath. His ever faithful companion, Akamaru, barked in agreement.

"What was that?" Shino coldly stated, a hint of anger in his calm demeanor as he glared at his squad mate, his eyes twitching the tiniest amount.

However, before Kiba was able to offer a sarcastic retort to his squad mate, Akamaru started coughing, having accidentally swallowed one of Shino's flies as he ran from treetop to tree top. "Hey, Akamaru! Is something wrong, boy?" Kiba called out to his friend and companion, worried for his safety.

Shino, however, simply huffed in annoyance. "Don't ignore me," he muttered, his audible anger causing his two squad mate's hair to stand up on end.

"Geez, Shino,"Kiba chuckled at his friend, as amused as ever at his emotional moods. "Are you jealous of Akamaru?"

Shino did not respond.

Hinata giggled a little bit at the antics of the two boys she thought of as brothers, but she still could not help but feel strangely empty inside. Sure, she had gone without seeing Naruto for long periods of time before, even having gone without seeing him three years once (though that did not stop her from seeing him in her dreams, of course!), but now that he finally returned her feelings and was spending more time with her, let alone that they were actually _dating_, she could hardly remember how she could have lived without him. Being Naruto's girlfriend was a greater joy than she could ever have hoped for, and she could hardly imagine that her life had turned out this well.

Alas, she was still a ninja, and thus she had to stay focused on the mission: tracking down a rogue genin who had stolen a sacred ninja scroll. It wasn't that hard of a mission; they had already almost caught the target, and then they'd be able to go back home.

Back to Konoha. Back to _Naruto_. Back to his dazzling grin that had always given her butterflies, but now that it was frequently directed at her, would make her heart _sing_.

Hinata smiled at the thought of him and his perfect smile.

Nevertheless, she refocused herself on the mission. Now wasn't the time to daydream about him. She had a mission to complete, after all, and she wanted to show that she was a good enough ninja to be with the hero of the Shinobi World. The three tracking ninjas continued on their way, eager to catch up to the missing nin and get this mission over with.

* * *

A bright and cheery cafe in the middle of Konoha. People came in and out, as happy and joyful as they could be. However, in the corner, two young kunoichi were immune to the cafe's sunny disposition.

Ino Yamanake shook her head sadly at her friend, looking at her with unabashed concern in her eyes. "You just can't keep living like this, Sakura."

"I know, Ino-pig, I know" the distraught medic sighed in response, stirring her tea with a half interested look on her face. Her best friend, who was sitting across the table from her while they were drinking tea, bit her lip in a worried fashion. "It's gotten so bad that I'm trying to stay away from him, you know, so that it doesn't hurt as much, but..." She sighed, confused and depressed.

"You can't get over him," Ino finished for her. Sakura nodded dimly in response.

"Yeah... It's different than it used to be with Sasuke? I feel... I feel much more strongly about him than I ever did with that cold-hearted bastard," Sakura chuckled a bit as she thought of her old love. "I can't even get away from him in my dreams. I just can't... stop thinking about him, even when I'm asleep..." Her cheeks matched her hair color as she remembered some other things she was thinking about her crush in her bed, things she definitely did not want Ino to know. She could only hope that the Yamanaka would not be able to figure it out, especially with her mind reading ninjutsu.

Ino lowered her head in sympathy. "Have you thought about asking anyone else out? You know, seeing your other options?" The blonde Yamanaka suggested with an uncertain smile, trying to help the poor girl. However, Sakura seemed all too eager to reject that notion.

"Lee's asked me out a few times, you know, like he usually does, but I don't want to just, well, use him to get over Naruto, you know? Don't want to play with his feelings or anything." Sakura sighed, taking another sip of her tea.

Ino rested her head in her hand and took a deep breath, growing quickly impatient with her friend's stubbornness but trying to contain those feelings. "Well, if you keep refusing to see what else is out there, well, of _course_ you won't be able to get over him! And it's not like you'd just fall head over heels with Lee or any other guys right away," Ino chuckled a bit, taking a moment to tale another sip of her tea. "You need to at least give some other guys a chance," she declared, as if that solved everything. Unfortunately, it seemed that it would not be so easy for the blonde to help Sakura out of her depression.

Sakura frowned. "I just... it feels... wrong. Like it would be, well, cheating on Naruto." She laughed dryly, as even she could see the humor of it.

Ino frowned in concern. _'Sounds to me like she is just trying to make excuses,' _she thought with a hefty sigh. "Sakura, Naruto already has a girlfriend. Getting a boyfriend for yourself won't really be cheating on him, now would it?"

"I... I just don't know," Sakura sighed, gazing sadly off to the side as she continued to lazily stir her tea. Ino frowned in concern. "It's just... I already feel like my heart belongs to him. Heh." She shook her head sadly. "And to think, all those times I rejected him when he asked me out on dates, and this is how it all ends up."

Ino bowed her head in sympathy. She honestly did not know quite what to say, this was way out of her league. But still, she knew she had to do _something_. "Sakura-chan," she said worryingly, grabbing her friend's hands and holding them comfortably as she stared into her eyes. "Just know, that no matter what I say, that I'm your friend, and I'll be here for you.

Touched by her friend's heartfelt words, Sakura smiled for the first time in a while, a _real_ smile. "Thanks, Ino-pig."

Ino chuckled at her friend's use of her nickname, shaking her head from side to side, yet happy at her raised spirits. She smiled back at her. "Anytime, Forehead."


	12. Chapter 12

"Be Careful with the target, Kiba," Shino scolded his squad mate.

"Yeah, yeah," Kiba waved him off as he threw their target's unconscious body unceremoniously on top of Akamaru before leaping on top of it himself. Shino glared at the Inuzuka.

"I do not like to be ignored," Shino commented dryly, causing his canine-like companion to simply roll his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah," Kiba waved him off again, and Shino's forehead crunched up in displeasure at his friend's blatant disregard of his advice. Chuckling silently to himself, Kiba ignored the Aburame and turned his attention to his "little sister". "So, Hinata, ready to get back home?" He turned his head curiously at her. "And see Naruto?" he added, smirking wickedly at the poor girl as he scratched behind his dog's ears.

Hinata, naturally, turned bright red at her comrade's teasing. "Ki-Kiba-kun! Don't tease me like that!" she said, turning away as she instinctively began to fantasize about her oh-so-perfect boyfriend.

Kiba grinned. Sure, he loved Hinata like a sister, but it was still fun to tease her sometimes! After all, isn't that what sisters are for? "Ah, come on, Hinata! Aren't you ready to go back to his," the Inuzuka put on a goofy, girly voice. "big, strong arms, feel tiny in his masculine grip, enjoy his warm breath on your shoulder..." His grin widened with each statement as Hinata found a new shade of red to turn to.

"That's enough, Kiba," Shino declared, having had enough of his teammate annoy his "little sister".

"Ah, come on Shino," Kiba grinned at the bug user. "It's all a little harmless fun, right Hinata?" Hinata did not respond.

Shino however, raised his eyebrow. "It sounds to me like you were really getting into your descriptions of Naruto, Kiba. Is there something you'd like to tell us?"

Kiba stared wide eyed and slack jawed at his friend, struggling to think of a retort. Alas, he was so focused on trying to disprove his friend's insinuation that he lost his balance and fell off Akamaru, who gently nudged his still motionless body with his nose. Shino merely smirked beneath his coat. _'Check. Mate.' _

Hinata simply shook her head at her brother's bickering, more than used to this kind of behavior between the two of them. She refocused her energies on getting ready to return to Konoha and end this mission. And yes, to see Naruto. Hinata definitely did miss him (after all, how could she not?), even though she could not actually verbalize her desire. Especially after Kiba's teasing.

As the three finished their preparations, the three Shinobi and Akamaru took off to the trees, along with their special present.

* * *

_'Something's not right with Sakura-chan,' _Naruto mused, tapping his head with his finger instead of wolfing down his ramen as he usually did. _'I hardly see her these days. I mean, I know that was partially my fault for being around Hinata-chan all the time, but even after Hinata-chan left on her mission she seems to avoid me...' _He sighed. This was all way too confusing.

"Hey, Naruto! Aren't you going to eat that?" The owner of Ichiraku ramen, Teuchi, gently chided his favorite customer as he came out of the back room, cleaning a bowl with a washcloth.

Naruto grinned cheekily in response. "Sorry, old man," he chuckled. "I just... have a lot on my mind." He unintentionally added a long, deep sigh.

"What? Miss your girlfriend?" Teuchi teased the young boy. As one would expect, Naruto had dragged his girlfriend to his ramen stand quite often ever since they started dating- not that Hinata particularly minded- and Teuchi had gotten to know her very well in a short span of time.

"No! Well, yes, but that's not what worries me," Naruto admitted, rubbing the back of his head.

Noticing that something seemed to be wrong with the boy, the ramen store owner frowned. He put the dish down on the table and leaned in to face the blonde hero, a concerned look on his face. "You want to talk about it?"

Naruto smiled gratefully at the old man. He really was like an old uncle to him, willing to talk to him about most anything. "It's about Sakura-chan," he admitted, turning his gaze down to the table with a sad expression on his face.

"Oh? What about her?" Teuchi asked, prodding him for more information.

"Well, ever since I started dating Hinata-chan, she's been acting real... distant. Like, she's been avoiding me and stuff."

Teuchi raised an eyebrow, which fortunately Naruto did not see. _'Could it be...? Well, figures that Naruto would not notice. But in any case, it seems like he has become quite the catch,'_ he thought proudly, happy despite himself that Naruto was finally getting the respect that he felt he always deserved. Alas, he still needed to help the poor boy. But at the same time he didn't want to make things awkward between him and his friend, and certainly did not want to have him potentially be conflicted over his girlfriend and best friend.

"Oh? And do you have any idea why that might be?" the old man replied.

Naruto sighed in response. "I... I really don't know. She just started avoiding me, wherever I go. And I just can't think of anything I could have done to anger her- well, more than usual. Heh, I really don't understand girls," he sighed, laying his face down on the table.

_'That's for sure,' _Teuchi mentally sweat dropped. "And you say this started when you started dating Hinata?"

"Yeah!" Naruto chimed happily with a great big smile as he thought of his beautiful girlfriend, oblivious to the path of reasoning that followed the ramen shop owner's question. However when he remembered why he was talking to Teuchi in the first place, his frowned in sadness once again. "I mean, I guess I wasn't spending a lot of time with her ever since I started dating Hinata-chan, so I can't really say..."

The ramen chef thought for a moment. "Perhaps that is it?" he offered the young boy.

Naruto popped his head back up. "Hm?"

"Well, maybe she's just upset that you haven't been spending time with her? I mean, she is your friend, and if you only want to spend time with her because your girlfriend is on a mission, well, that's not fair to her, now is it?"

Naruto thought about this for a minute. He supposed it did make sense; after all, he had been neglecting Sakura ever since he and Hinata-chan had started dating, and now that Teuchi mentioned it, he did feel a bit guilty about only wanting to spend time with her now that his girlfriend was gone. He smiled at Teuchi: to him, he was more than just a provider of ramen, he was also a father figure who would help him through thick and thin. "Thanks, old man," he said sincerely, smiling for the first time in a while.

Teuchi chuckled as he got back up from the table. "Anytime, Naruto," he told the grateful young boy, and Naruto began eating his ramen with his usual vigor. Shaking his head, as he picked up his bowl again and started cleaning it once more, he sighed wistfully, _'Ah, to be young again...'_

* * *

"Now, where can she be..." Naruto thought to himself as he wandered through the streets of Konoha, trying to catch that familiar pink hair in the crowds. "Don't tell me I need to use Sage mode just to find her..."

After a few more minutes of fruitless searching, however, he sighed in resignation. Jumping up to the top of a nearby building, he got into a meditative stance and began gathering natural energy.

A few minutes later, he opened his eyes, now with an orange tint surrounding them, and immediately leaped off in the direction he now knew Sakura to be.

Parting the tree branches, he slapped his forehead in embarrassment when he he found out where she was: their old training grounds. Why he didn't check there first, he would never know. Unlike the last time he had trained with her, the place still seemed to be fairly intact, having been fixed by some genin team on a D Rank mission earlier. Boy, he didn't miss those missions. Evidently, Sakura wasn't as pissed off as she had been. With a deep breath, he let go of the nature chakra and reverted back to normal.

Not wanting to let her have the opportunity to run off, he stealthily tip toed his way over to her. Fortunately for him, she was too wrapped up in her training to be alerted to his presence. _'She might need to work on that,' _he thought dryly.

Finally, as Sakura threw a punch, she let out an audible gasp as it was caught by a certain blonde bombshell.

"N-naruto," she stuttered as she saw him, gazing into his deep blue eyes, his face almost... apologetic?

"Hey Sakura," he greeted her, rubbing the back of his head with his hand as he grinned cheekily at her.

:Sakura couldn't handle this, and began turning to leave. "I- I have to-"

"Wait, Sakura!" Naruto demanded, grabbing her hand and pulling hr back to him, missing the blush she grew. "I just wanted to say... I'm sorry."

"S-sorry?" Sakura asked, confused at her best friend's and secret crush's impromptu apology.

"Yeah," Naruto replied, smiling warmly at her and unintentionally unleashing a hoarde of butterflies in her stomach. "I mean, I guess I haven't been hanging out with you too much ever since I started dating Hinata-chan. And now, pretty much the only reason I wanted to spend time with you was because Hinata-chan wasn't here. And that's not fair to you, and... Heh. You must be mad at me, huh?"

_'Oh, Naruto, that's not why I'm mad at you, you baka...'_ Sakura mentally sighed, though she supposed it was natural for him to mistake the signs. Still, she was glad he didn't figure out why she was actually avoiding him. After all, she didn't want to make things awkward between them, or worse, have Naruto reject her again, actually reject her this time. She didn't think she could take that.

But as it stood, she was touched by her crush's heartfelt apology, even if it was for the wrong thing. "Thanks, Naruto," she smiled warmly at him, resisting with all her heart the urge to pounce him. "I guess I haven't been mature myself, always running away from you and everything. I guess I should have just talked to you about it, huh?" _'Yeah, talk to him about how much I need him, that would go over well...'_

"I guess so," Naruto laughed, grinning cheekily at his best friend, happy that everything seemed to be back to normal between the two.

But Sakura knew things would never be back to normal between them. Not for her, anyway.

Still, she felt like she had to make it up to him somehow. She decided to finally give him what he had been wanting for her for years, back when they were younger. Back when she was blinder. Yeah. To make it up to him. That was the reason. "So, in order to make things up to you... how about I take you out to ramen? My treat."

"Oh boy! Ramen!" Naruto cheered like a little kid on Christmas, salivating at the very mention of free ramen. While before all of this she would have rolled her eyes at his childish antics, now Sakura could not help but let out a giggle. It was very cute, it was very... _Naruto_.

As the two left the training field to make their way back to the ramen stand, she thought to herself, _'So... is this like a date? Are we... No... I can't think like that. This is just a dinner between two friends. Yeah... two friends._

_'If only...'_


	13. Chapter 13

"Finally, we're home!" Kiba yelled, laughing heartily as they saw the familiar gates of Konoha. His faithful companion barked in agreement.

Hinata shook her head in mock disappointment at her boisterous teammate's loud declaration, but was no less happy herself at the fact that they were finally back at the gates of Konoha. Back home.

Back to Naruto.

Trying to stop herself from blushing at the mere thought of him, she nonetheless was overly cheerful as she walked into the village. However, her disposition was wounded when Shino reminded her of what they still needed to do.

"Remember, we have to report to Lord Hokage and make our report, as well as deliver the target," he declared, as cool and calm as he ever was. Unfortunately, Hinata was immediately saddened as she remembered what she had to do, and sighed a little in disapointment.

_'Oh well, I'll see Naruto soon enough,' _Hinata tried cheering herself up, even though she could not help but feel a little disappointed she wouldn't see Naruto right away. However, she was a Ninja, and knew that her job came first. Naruto would have to wait. Nodding to her comrades, she made her way toward the Hokage Mansion to deliver the report with her team.

* * *

"Well, glad that's over," Kiba spoke for the entire group as they left the Hokage's mansion. Shino did not speak or even alter his facial expression, but Kiba knew he agreed and was just as ready to go home as he was. And Hinata? Well, she was practically brimming with delight. Kiba chuckled, knowing full well just why she was so happy. He entertained the notion of teasing her, but quickly shook those thoughts aside. He had embarrassed her more than enough, and he didn't want to torture the poor girl.

"Ok, Hinata, go see him," he shook his head in mock anger, causing the poor girl to turn beet red.

Regardless, she was unable to say that that idea was unappealing, and after thanking her friends and saying goodbye, she ran off to find her wonderful boyfriend.

* * *

The former heiress to the Hyūga clan sighed. Her sister had been gone on a mission for a whole week, and she had completely failed to find a way to break up her and her boyfriend! She was beginning to think she would never find a way to break the two of them up... But no. She was Hanabi Hyūga, the _rightful_ heir to the Hyūga clan. She would not be bested by two... worthless peons such as those two.

Still, she was at a loss as to how to actually break them up.

She took a look down the streets of Konoha, desperately trying to find some way to break them up. As luck would have it, she saw something that might very well be of use. She smiled to herself.

_'Perfect.'_

* * *

Sakura Haruno mentally patted herself on the back. She and Naruto had been spending more time together recently, and she had managed to suppress the urge to jump him for all that time!

Sure, she _wanted_ to... but she knew she couldn't. She couldn't do that to Naruto.

_'Or to Hinata,'_ Sakura reminded herself, with a sigh.

As the pink haired medic made her way through the streets of Konoha, she could not help but think of her rival in love. True, she had been blaming the blue haired heiress for taking Naruto from her, but the more he thought about it, the harder she found it to hate her for it. After all, she could speak from experience just how lovable the blonde knucklehead was. And Hinata had been loving him for years! Who was she to deny someone who had wanted something so good for so long?

And it's not like she was bad for him, in any way. She was smart, and pretty, and kind and gentle, with a figure to die for. Sakura knew that Hinata was a good fit for Naruto, and she wished them the best.

She just wished she could be her...

_'Huh,' _she chuckled humorlessly. _'Funny. Never thought I'd be this jealous of Hinata...'_

But she shook her head of those thoughts. She had to get over this, and forgive Hinata.

She had to get things back to the way things were.

She pushed those thoughts aside, not wanting to be controlled by them. With a rather forced smile, she started to make her way back home.

With a gentle blow, yet another shadow clone vanished into thin air, leaving only one ninja left in the training field. The original Naruto slightly winced as clone's memory of his blow came back to him. Were his punches really that powerful?

Wiping away a stray band of sweat that had appeared on his forehead, he decided it was time to take a break. He walked over to his bag, and pulled out the ramen from Ichiraku that he brought with him. Trying to control his own salivation unsuccessfully, he dug in.

As he wolfed down his food, he heard a noise coming from the nearby trees. He stopped eating for a minute, turning around to see Sakura walking on over to him, an almost shy look on her face as she came closer.

"Hey, Sakura-chan! What's up?" he asked. Sakura merely smiled in response, an almost forced smile that immediately put Naruto on edge.

"Well, hello there, Naruto-_kun_..." Sakura greeted him, a little too sweetly.

Naruto raised his eyebrow. "Um, is something wrong, Sakura-chan?"

"Nothing at all, my dear Naruto-_kun_," she seemed to almost force out that honorific. Naruto fidgeted uncomfortably as he saw his friend walk towards him, wiggling her hips from side to side in an awkward manner.

"Uh..." Naruto gawked as he tried to figure out what to say, unable to fully understand what was happening or what to do in this situation. "Are you ok, Sakura?"

"I'm just fine, Naruto-_kun_," she said... sexily? Or at least Naruto suspected that it was supposed to sound sexily. His pink haired friend continued to waltz on over to the confused blonde, swaying her hips from side to side in the most peculiar fashion.

"Um... Sakura... you..." Naruto was confused. Was Sakura... coming on to him? But no... He knew that Sakura had no interest in him. She had made that very clear over the years. Sure, she may not have any hopes with Sasuke anymore, but she still wouldn't do something like this, even if she _did_ like him (yeah, like _that_ would ever happen). She knew he was dating Hinata, and she wasn't the kind of person to try and break up her friends like this. But then, what was going on...?

"I'm just trying to show you how I really feel, Naturo-_kun_," the pink haired girl cooed, causing the boy to back away slightly.

"Uh..." Naruto said, dumbly, gawking at his friend. "What's going...?" But he was interrupted, as "Sakura" slipped on a rock. With a poof, the transformation jutsu was undone, revealing a short browned haired girl with lavender eyes wide open. It was his girlfriend's sister, Hanabi.

Naruto blinked.

Hanabi gulped.

With speed that would have put Naruto's father to shame, Hanabi ran out of the training field.

Naruto still had no clue what just happened.

"Naruto-kun!"

_'Ah, there is something much better,'_ he chuckled to himself.

Immediately forgetting the confusing events that just transpired, he turned around to find the most beautiful girl in the world running toward him at lightning speed. Hinata leaped directly into his arms, pulling him into a hug as he twirled her around like in some sort of romantic fairy tale.

Which, to be perfectly honest, this very well might be.

Hianta buried her face into Naruto's chest, sighing in happiness as his arms caressed her back. The two held each other like that for a brief while, soaking in each others company, content for the moment. However, soon they both wanted more. Naruto, of course, was the one to initiate the kiss, but Hinata was all too eager to return the favor. After a few glorious seconds, the two broke the kiss, staring deeply into the others eyes.

_'Say it!' _Naruto mentally screamed. _'Say you love her!' _But the words died on his lips. "It's good to see you again, Hinata-chan," he said instead, mentally cursing himself all the while.

"It's good to see you too, Naruto-kun," she sighed, burying her face once more in her boyfriend's shoulder and taking another whiff of his musky scent. _'Smells like ramen,'_ she giggled a bit to herself.

"When did you get back?"

"Just now."

"Ah, ok."

The two continued holding each other in silence, neither wanting to break the moment. Though Naruto _was_ wrestling with saying something. However, he put that thought aside when he remembered what had just transpired.

"Hey, Hinata-chan?" he asked her

"Hm?" she replied, her voice muffled by Naruto's shirt as she buried her head deeper into his arm. However, she soon would not have that luxury.

"Something kind of strange just happened here..."

* * *

Hinata frowned as she walked through the halls of her compound as she tried to make sense of what Naruto had told her. _'Why would Hanabi...?'_

Did Hanabi have a crush on Naruto, and was just trying to get close to him? No, if she did and just wanted to kiss him or whatever, then why impersonate Sakura? Why not impersonate her, Naruto's girlfriend?

Unless...

Hinata remembered that look Sakura had back when she well, fainted (she could not help but feel embarrassed at that, and was glad that she seemed to have gotten over that annoying trait). Hinata could have sworn she looked _jealous_ of them. And Hinata thought it was more than just jealousy over being in a relationship. Even though Naruto seemed to be as adorably oblivious as he ever was, Hinata was a Hyūga, lauded for her eyesight. She was not blind. She knew that Sakura seemed to have a crush on her boyfriend. Could it be that her sister also saw this?

And if so, then the only reason Hinata could think of for why her sister would impersonate Sakura...

_'No. It can't be!'_

True, Hinata had never really been close to her sister, having been regarded as a failure while Hanabi was groomed to be the heir to the clan from a young age. The two were not the closest of sisters, but to imagine that she would go this far...

"Hanabi-chan? Are you in there?" Hinata called as she knocked on her sister's door.

There was no response. Hinata frowned. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door.

Hanabi wasn't on the other side.

_'Well, of course she doesn't want to be found,'_ Hinata thought dryly, _'Not after pulling a stunt like that.' _Sighing, she went to find the first member of the Branch house she could find. He stopped in place as she approached, as all Branch members did. It would seem that time and change would not end all traditions.

"Greetings, Hinata-sama," he respectfully bowed, annoying Hinata a little with what she saw as undue respect. Still, she was not the type of person to show her disapproval.

"Greetings, Hayaki-kun," she bowed in response before getting down to business. "Have you seen Hanabi-chan anywhere?"

"Hanabi-sama and her team just left on a mission," Hayaki responded, causing Hinata to frown.

_'Running away, eh? Drat. Guess I won't be able to get answers from her anytime soon...'_ Thank you, Hayaki-kun," she bowed in gratitude, and he returned the favor.

"Anytime, Hinata-sama," he bowed back, and then went off to do his business.

_'Well, might as well spend the time I have with Naruto-kun,'_ Hinata sighed wistfully. _'God, how I've missed him...'_

Almost immediately forgetting about the business with her sister, she practically skipped out of the Hyūga compound in search of _her_ Naruto-kun.


	14. Chapter 14

_'Shit! Shit shit shit!'_

Hanabi was furiously pacing across the hallway of the Hyūga compound, trying to think of some way out of the mess she now found herself in.

It should have been simple: impersonate the girl, get the idiot into a compromising situation, have her sister find them, break the two up. Unfortunately, it seems that she had grossly miscalculated. And now, her sister was out for her head, and though she had no pleasant thoughts for her older sister, Hanabi knew that she could unravel all her plans. She already did it once before, after all.

Luckily, her mimicry of the branch house member, Hayaki, was enough to fool her sister and buy her some time, but...

_'Wait... that's it!'_

Hanabi grinned. Truly, she was a genius.

* * *

_'This is the life.'_

Hinata sighed wistfully as she rested her head against her lovely boyfriend's shoulder, his arm wrapped around her and pulling her closer to her, the two of them gazing at the sunset from the top of the Hokage monument. She happily rubbed her cheek against his shirt, basking in finally having , to be here, basking in her lifelong crush's affections, doing nothing but cuddling... there was nothing more that Hinata could ever want.

She soon felt her makeshift pillow shift, as Naruto's hand pulled her chin up to meet his. Staring down at her with a caring smile, Naruto let his lips touch hers.

Ah. So there was something else that Hinata wanted.

The kiss soon grew from chaste and innocent to wild and passionate. Hinata's arms found their way around her love's blonde hair, pulling him deeper and deeper into the kiss. Naruto's hands fondled and caressed her back, sending shivers up the girl's spine. The two soon found themselves laying on the ground, their tongues intertwined in the others mouth as they made out, rolling across the dirt without a care in the world beyond deepening the kiss.

Neither knew how long they remained like that basking in their curious passion. All they knew was that the sun was high overhead when they began, but when they finally stopped to rest, it was fading behind the horizon.

Hinata sighed blissfully as she rested her head on her boyfriend's chest, right above his heart, cuddling deeper into him with a content smile gracing her lips. Naruto gently stroked his fingers through her hair, marveling at its texture.

_'Say it,'_ he tried to convince himself. He wanted to say it, after all, he knew- well, he _thought_ he loved her. He just wasn't sure about it yet, and didn't want to toy with her emotions should he later decide it wasn't actually love.

Or maybe he was just afraid of being in love.

But for the moment, he was content. Taking a deep, relaxing breath, he closed his eyes, holding the beautiful girl in his arms tight. Happier than he could remember ever being, he returned once more to the land of sleep.

* * *

"Uh..."

Naruto groaned as the light invaded his eyes, interrupting his blissful slumber. But something felt different than he usually did when he woke up: for one, his warm, comfortable bed was replaced by dirty rock. Even more strangely, though, as he had grown quite accustomed to that on his missions, was the pressure he felt on his body. Even stranger still, his own arms seemed to be wrapped around whatever was on him.

Struggling to open his eyes, he turned his gaze down to see just what was on top of him. His confused look immediately turned into a smile as he saw a sleeping angel resting on his chest. Memories of the last night slowly came back to him, every kiss and caress they gave one another. Smiling as the thoughts raced through his mind, he gently stroked the goddess's cheek, marveling at just how _cute_ she looked when she slept. The girl's eyes fluttered open at the movement, and she gazed confusedly with tired eyes at what she was lying on.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Hinata-chan. I didn't mean to wake you," Naruto spoke apologetically, staring down worriedly at her. Hinata turned crimson red as she realized where she was, but forced herself to stare directly into her love's eyes.

"I-it's ok, Naruto-kun," she replied, trying to remember just what happened last night. Fortunately, she was able to remember that they didn't do anything rash- just, well, make out and... fall asleep in the others arms. They didn't do anything beyond that.

Though honestly, Hinata wasn't sure if she would mind if they did...

_'No! Bad Hinata!'_

Trying to clear her mind of those thoughts, she laid her head back on his chest, taking yet another contented sigh as she rubbed her cheek against his shirt.

Naruto smiled at his personal princess, and relaxed for a few minutes more in her presence as the morning light fell upon them...

_'Wait... morning light?'_

Out of nowhere, he sat up, starling the girl in his arms. "What's wrong, Naruto-kun?"she asked him worryingly.

"It's morning," he choked out.

Hinata was confused for a second, before she realized what he meant. They had been out there all night, cuddling under the starlight... and although that was exactly what she always wanted, she didn't think her father would be all too thrilled that she didn't come home the previous night.

"Better get home, then," she sighed, fearing the encounter already.

"I'll walk you home," Naruto offered, and his gentle smile left Hinata no room to protest. Grabbing her hand, they began walking down to the village below.

* * *

Fortunately for the two, Hinata's father was not angry at all. In fact, they could have sworn that Hiashi had a bit of a smirk on his face when they talked to him. They wondered just what he thought they had gotten up to, but they were merely grateful that they hadn't drawn his wrath.

As the two walked through the halls of the compound after their meeting with Hinata's father, they saw someone that they did not expect to see. Hinata was shocked while Naruto was slightly furious at the sight of ,

"Hanabi!" she yelled, stopping her sister in her tracks. The little trickster seemed to look nervous for a second, but that swiftly faded as she smiled warmly at the two.

Hinata, however, was not so happy to see her sister. Frowning, she and her boyfriend stormed up to the girl. "Hanabi, I thought you were on a-"

"Transformation Jutsu!"

In a flash and a puff of smoke, Hanabi vanished, to be replaced by the near perfect image of Sakura. She grinned triumphantly at the two.

"Sorry about that little show back there," she told the two. "I had just learned the Transformation Jutsu, and I wanted to see just how well I had gotten a hang of it. Pretty well, don't you think? Managed to convince you I was Hayaki, after all." she giggled.

The two teenagers stared at her in shock. Though they were both a little mad at the stunt she pulled, they weren't expecting s reason like this. And Hinata had to admit, she was good to have tricked her with her impersonation of Hayaki... However, Hinata put on her best older sister face before scolding her. "Well, I'm glad that you're learning new jutsu, but there are much better ways to test it than this."

Hanabi/Sakura sighed in recognition. "I know," she confessed, before undoing the jutsu and returning back to Hanabi. "I just wanted to test it so badly, that I didn't think about how it would affect you... "I'm sorry."

Hinata took a deep breath before smiling at her sister. "It's alright Just don't do it again." With that, she grabbed her boyfriend's hand, pulling him along. There wasn't really any harm done, after all.

And honestly, Hinata was just glad that her little sister wasn't trying to break the two of them up.

Waving them goodbye, Hanabi waited until they left. At which point, she dropped the warm smile and replaced it with an evil smirk.

_'Suckers.'_

"Well, guess I'll be seeing you later," Naruto said sadly as he and Hinata exited the building.

Hinata frowned, not exactly wanting to see her boyfriend off. "Actually, Naruto-kun, do you think we could be together a little bit longer? Please?"

Placing his hands on her shoulder, Naruto apologized. "Sorry, Hinata-chan," he said. "I want to, I really do. But Granny Tsunade wants me to study politics and stuff, and I really have been slacking on my homework." He shivered at the very mention of that dreaded word.

Hinata felt a pang of sympathy. She knew just how much Naruto hated academic work, and that he really didn't want to leave her. But she didn't want to be away from him. "Say, why don't I help you study?" she offered.

"You would do that?" Naruto blinked, shocked. His lovely girlfriend giggled at how cute he looked like that!

"Of course!" she smiled, before going in to peck his lips. Twice. "After all, I need to do everything in my power you become a gifted Hokage, for the future of Konaha," she tried to reason.

Naruto stifled a laugh at his girlfriend's choice of words. "Okay, follow me."

* * *

Naruto's apartment was a bit messier than he would have liked, and although Hinata insisted it was fine, he kept apologizing for his lack of cleanliness. Regardless, he didn't really have time to clean up: he had studying to do.

The two of them sat sit by side at his table. Hinata kept going over feudal lords and policies and all sorts of things that Naruto knew would become useful when he was Hokage. But even though he knew it was important, he quickly grew tired of all the studying. He would have taken a break like he normally did when things started going over his head, but he knew Hinata would have his head if she knew if he was slacking. Unless...

Hinata was shocked when her lecturing was interrupted by a warm, tingling sensation on her lips. She at first tried to resist the kiss, but soon found herself powerless to resist against his passionate kiss. Wrapping her hands around his blonde hair, she climbed her way over to his lap, wrapping her legs around the back of his chair while never breaking the kiss.

Naruto's hands caressed her back, causing her to moan into the kiss. She tightened her hands around his cheek, pushing him deeper into her mouth as their tongues dance that ancient duet.

Naruto started to feel a little excited, and his member soon grew rigid. He was worried that he would have offended the her, but Hinata simply started moving up and down as she continued to make out with him, grinding against his growing erection.

Hinata's dirty thoughts from earlier in the day concerning her and Naruto came back, and now she was unsure if she could resist them. Or if she _wanted_ to, for that matter. Her love for the boy gave way to lust, though to her the two were one and the same, and she wanted more. No, she _needed_ more.

The kiss grew too long, and they needed air. Breathing heavily, she stared into his eyes, seeing emotions in them that she had never thought she would have seen in her lifetime. Intoxicated by him, she could not help herself from saying the words she hadn't said since she saved him from the terror known as Pain.

"I love you."

Her eyes widened as she realized what she said, and she worried that she spoke too soon, even if he already knew that. But when she averted her eyes, she felt warm fingers turning her gaze back to his own. Naruto's eyes seemed to have even more joy in them than they had seconds earlier.

"I love you, too."

And with that, Naruto gave her a kiss that put all his others to shame.


	15. Chapter 15

The two broke the kiss, resting their foreheads together as they took a moment to catch their breath. Breathing heavily, they recovered from their passionate kiss, staring into each others eyes all the while.

"Naruto-kun..." Hinata breathed. She could hardly believe it! Finally, after so long, she heard Naruto tell her the words she longed for, the words she never thought she'd be able to hear him say. She felt like her heart was about to burst!

But she wanted more.

"I want you."

Naruto's eyes shot right open as he heard his princess speak those words. For a few seconds, he ran these words over and over in his head, trying to make sure that she actually said those words. However, when he turned his gaze back to his girlfriend's face, and saw her fierce blush as she gazed intently back into his eyes, he knew she was serious.

And Naruto knew he wanted her, too.

All thoughts of resisting were gone. Any notion of it being too soon, of the consequences or repercussions of what they were about to do were forgotten. All Naruto knew was that he wanted what the love of his life was so generously offering him.

Taking a moment to calm his nerves, he picked up Hinata from her seat in his lap and cradled her in his arms like a bride before getting up from the chair. As he began carrying her toward his bedroom, a pair of sweet, sultry lips found their way to his own. Greatly enjoying their taste, he eagerly returned the favor, carefully balancing the girl in his arms as he walked back to his room, taking care not to fall or break the kiss.

The two entered his room, their tongues intertwined. Neither wanted to break the kiss, but Naruto knew they needed to in order for things to proceed. Reluctantly, he broke the kiss, and almost giggled despite himself at the adorable pout Hinata gave him in return.

He moseyed his way over to the bed, and dropped her on the bed. She bounced a bit, and giggled. Her eyes, however, grew wide open as he took off his shirt, giving her a good, solid look at his rock hard physique. Solid abs and a toned six pack toned after years of intense ninja training...

_'God, he's gorgeous!'_

Naruto smirked down at her as he saw the lust in her eyes. He could see her marvel at his body, practically salivating at the very sight of him as she mentally undressed the lower parts of his body with her eyes. He could not help but feel a bit smug at the way she marveled at him.

He descended upon her, laying a kiss on her delicious lips as he grabbed her waist, his wandering hands caressing each and every curve of her impeccable body. Hinata eagerly returned the kiss, diving her tongue into his mouth with none of the shyness or modesty she was known for. Her hands found their way up his chest, and she found herself eagerly rubbing against every inch of his firm, muscular torso as his hands continued to pull her closer and closer.

Without breaking the kiss, Naruto grabbed the jacket Hinata always wore and ripped it off, casting it aside carelessly. Now, Hinata's chest was covered only in her undershirt mesh, which did little to conceal her considerable breasts. Naruto could feel her nipples poking his chest from beneath the mesh, her heavy breathing causing them to rub up against his bare chest. Without breaking the kiss, he began pulling the mesh up her torso, forcing the poor girl to stop groping his chest for a moment as the shirt got in the way.

Naruto let go of the girl, leaving a suitable amount of room in between the two for him to look at her bare torso. He suddenly understood just why Hinata was so mesmerized at the sight of his shirtless torso moments earlier. Her luscious, large mounds taunted his eyes, so firm and yet so soft.

"Beautiful," he whispered, causing Hinata's already red face to turn crimson,. He lowered his mouth to her left breast, hungrily taking all of her nipple in his mouth.

"Ooh!" Hinata moaned, gently wrapping her fingers around Naruto's golden locks as he continued to suck on her nipple. "Naruto."

Naruto smiled as he continued sucking. He began experimenting, twirling his tongue around her nipple and relishing in the heightened moans he drew from her. His left hand soon found its way to her right breast. groping it's entirety as his tongue continued to tease her left nipple.

Hinata was in heaven- all of her wet dreams and deepest fantasies she had never shared with a soul were finally coming to fruition. She had never thought of herself as greedy or selfish, but now was the time she would make an exception. She wanted more. She _needed_ more.

As Naruto continued his exploration of the luscious breasts, he suddenly felt pressure on his rapidly growing erection. Taking a break from his fondling, he looked down, only to see a sight that would make him gasp in surprise: his shy and reserved girlfriend had taken the initiative and grabbed his member!

_'Then again, perhaps she isn't so reserved when it comes to me,' _ he momentarily thought, but that and all other thoughts were forgotten as she began stroking his length up and down. He grunted, the immense pleasure of another persons hand on his manhood was proving to be a greater pleasure than he had ever experienced before, and he wasn't too sure how much longer he could hold on.

Hinata marveled at the way Naruto's length seemed to twitch in her fingers, but his infernal pants were in the way! Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she rolled the two of them over so that she was on top. Turning her gaze to Naruto's pants, she gasped as she saw the rather impressive bulge poking out at her. Gulping, she lightly grabbed the hem of his pants and began pulling them down.

As his pants were pulled down, his erection sprung up, clad in boxers with a fox pattern. Hinata giggled a bit at Naruto's boxers, before gulping at his length. For a virgin like her, it was monstrous! Gathering together all of her courage, she grabbed his boxer shorts and pulled them off. Naruto then kicked off both his pants and underwear, leaving him completely in the nude.

She stared wide eyed at Naruto's manhood. Her first look at a man's thing. It was long and weird, and yet, she was absolutely entranced by it. With shaking fingers, she reached out to touch it.

Naruto gasped as her fingers began stroking up and down his length. Gritting his teeth, he tried to hold back his release as her delicate hands explored his length.

But it was so hard! Hinata's hand kept pumping him up and down, her cute face curiously seeing just what reactions she could get from him. At last, it was too much: he could no longer hold back, and unleashed his load on Hinata's unsuspecting face.

Naruto blushed as he saw his cute girlfriend pause in shock, his cum tracing down her cheeks. "S-sorry," he said, embarrassed. _'Damn it, I made an ass of myself! How could I cum that easily?'_

"I-It's ok" Hinata reassured him, reaching up to rub some of Naruto's seed off of her cheek. She knew that Naruto would need to recuperate in order to give her what she wanted, and that she would need to help him get there. She had read in her, erm, "research" that men liked women who acted "slutty". It was embarrassing, but if it would please Naruto...

The blonde bombshell's eyes widened even more, if that were possible, at the sight of Hinata licking his cum from her cheeks and fingers. He could feel his manhood coming back to full hardness...

Hinata's heart filled with joy as she saw her love's reactions to her depraved action. Although Hinata had originally only licked Naruto's cum in the hopes of exciting him, she had to admit: it tasted a lot better than she thought it would. _'Maybe next time, I'll...'_

Naruto was turned on greatly by Hinata's actions. So much so, that within minutes his erection was back up to its full length. He breathed a sigh of relief. He did _not_ want to embarrass himself his first time. He was the student of Jiraiya! He couldn't let his old master down like that!

However, he noticed that his girlfriend's pants were still on, while he was as naked as the day he was born. Frowning, he turned the two of them over so that he was on top.

Hinata gasped at her boyfriend's sudden actions, but soon saw what he was getting at. She helped him unbutton her pants and wiggle her way out of them, leaving her clad in only her underwear. Naruto stared intensely at her clad womanhood, prompting the poor girl to avert her gaze while blushing uncontrollably. Still, she willed herself to be strong in front of him. "Like what you see?"

Naruto smirked. "Always." With that, he began peeling off her panties, unveiling her jewel to him for the very first time. "Beautiful," was all he could say.

Gently, he placed his lips upon her womanhood, and Hinata could feel shivers rushing throughout her body. He placed yet another peck, teasing her and getting her ready for the main event. Satisfied with the moan of delight he got from her, he stuck out his tongue and began tracing around the edge of her core.

"N-Naruto-kun!" Hinata squealed, the sensation of Naruto's lips and tongue upon her core giving her a pleasure unlike any she had received before. It was far better than anything she had ever dreamed, and the real action hadn't even begun yet! "Please... take him... Make me yours..."

Naruto blinked, looking up at the panting girl's face from between her legs. "Are you sure, Hinata-chan?"

"More than anything..." Hinata breathed, gripping the sheets tightly. Naruto gulped.

"Alright," he said, mentally preparing himself for this. He didn't want to make a fool of himself again! Getting up from between Hinata's legs, he positioned his throbbing manhood just outside of her wet womanhood.

He rubbed his length against the edge of her core, remembering some of his Sensei's advice one of _those_ nights about "Teasing her till she's good and ready." It seemed to work, as Hinata instantly squirmed in pleasure.

"Please don't tease me. Just... please. Be in me," Hinata breathed, drudging up feelings of guilt in her lover's heart. But that washed away as soon as she opened her beautiful lips once more. "I love you, Naruto-kun."

"I love you too," Naruto said almost instinctively, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Pulling her into a passionate and loving kiss, he slowly entered her.

The initial pain was just as Hinata had anticipated, but she focused on the kiss, knowing that her Naruto-kun would never hurt her. Her tongue wrestled with his as he remained motionless in her core, waiting for a sign that it was okay to continue.

Hinata knew that it must have been torture for him to wait for her like that. "Please, move," she whispered against the kiss. "I'll be fine."

Naruto did not need to be told twice! Slowly, he began pumping his length into Hinata's core, taking great care not to cum too soon again. However, the utter joy he felt from her tight core constricting upon his bulging manhood was almost too much for him to handle. Regardless, he managed to hold off his impending release.

As Naruto began picking up speed, Hinata found herself feeling better and better. She felt... _complete_, for the first time in her life. She wrapped her arms around Naruto's waist, her fingernails cutting lightly into his back. "Please, faster!" She moaned, the pleasure starting to build up. "Make love to me, Naruto-kuuuuuuuuuun!"

Happy that his lover finally was feeling the pleasure he was feeling, Naruto started increasing the tempo of his thrusts. Moaning blissfully, Hinata wrapped her legs around his body, holding him tightly against her. His fingers found their way in between their two bodies, and he began flicking Hinata's nipples as he continued to make love to her, sending her into an euphoric bliss.

The two continued to discover one another, the only sounds the wet flapping of flesh against flesh and the moans and grunts of the two lovers. Were Hinata in a sounder state of mind, she would probably faint at the sounds she was making, even with all the progress she had made over the years. But she was too wrapped up in Naruto's actions to care. Naruto managed to maneuver his lips to her own, and laid a big, sloppy kiss upon them. Hinata eagerly complied as much as they were able, and the two started kissing each other as much as they could as their bodies continued to grind together.

The sensations of Naruto-kun's kiss, Naruto-kun's hands on her nipples, Naruto-kun's manhood in her womanhood, and the fact that Naruto-kun _loved_ her was proving to be too much for Hinata. "I'm... cumming!" she screamed in between her incoherent moans.

Naruto mentally patted himself on the back for his job well done. However, he didn't have much time to focus on his success, as he was fast approaching his own limit. And he just remembered that he had forgotten to use protection! He didn't want to get her pregnant... yet, anyway. "I-I'm cumming too!" he shouted, trying to warn her.

"Cum with me!" Hinata shouted, digging her nails into Naruto's skin.

"But-"

"It's ok!" Hinata assured him. "I've- oh- blocked it with chakra! Please, just cum inside me! Cum with me, Naruto-kuuuuuuuuuuuuuun!"

Hinata finally succumbed to her urges and, with a scream that was music to Naruto's ears, succumbed to a mind blowing orgasm.

Naruto felt his time was at an end too. "Hianta-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!" he yelled, before unleashing his load into Hinata's soaking wet womanhood.

The two panted, looking into each other's eyes before diving into one last, passionate kiss. After they were done, he dislodged himself from her, and rolled onto his back. Hinata cuddled up closely to himand rested her head on his chest with a blissful sigh.

"I love you," Hinata told him, finally able to tell him just how she feels freely.

"I love you, too," Naruto whispered back. Pulling up the covers over the two of them, they both drifted off into the best sleep of their lives.


	16. Chapter 16

The first thing Hinata realized was that this was not her bed. As her eyes tried to adjust to the encroaching sunlight, her mind desperately tried to figure out just what this strange, hard surface she was lying on instead of her usual bed.

Groaning a bit, she blinked a few times to regather her thoughts. As her eyes readjusted to the land of the waking, she took a good, hard look at just what she was laying on. It looked like... a man's chest?

Instantly, her eyes widened, trying to remember just what she had done the night prior, and why exactly she was now looking at a chiseled hard chest. Her eyes darted upward, and her heart calmed itself as she saw her boyfriend's adorable sleeping face, so calm and peaceful.

_'It was with Naruto-kun,' _she remembered, and swiftly forgot all her worry as her heart raced with the memories of the previous night. She had made love to Naruto, finally. Now the two of them were one.

Hardly believing her own good fortune, Hinata once more buried her head into Naruto's chest with a blissful sigh, and once again rejoined him in the land of slumber.

* * *

Neji grumbled to himself as he made his way to his destination. Well, mentally of course. Doing so verbally and sulking would be unsightly for a member of the Hyūga clan, particularly it's future heir.

A smirk betrayed him. To think, _he_ would be the clan heir... To think he would have been able to change his fate.

Well, he did have some help from a certain blonde knucklehead, of course. Speaking of which, he was the source of the stoic heir's current troubles. After he had returned from a mission with his team, the Hokage told him that Naruto had forgotten a meeting with her and ordered him to go retrieve him. He had more important things to do than remind that forgetful ninja about his obligations!

But he pushed those thoughts aside. After all, the Hokage had ordered him to do this, and he did not want to disobey a direct order from the Hokage.

Gently, he knocked on the blonde's door once he arrived at his apartment. "Naruto-san, are you in there?"

No answer. _'Perfect. Just perfect.'_

Sighing, he waited a few minutes for him to get ready. Alas, he still didn't respond. Neji frowned. He did _not_ have time for this.

Strictly speaking, it was forbidden for a Hyūga to use the Byakugan in order to peep on others private lives. But, seeing as how Naruto probably wasn't home, and Neji wanted to be able to know for certain so he could leave, he decided to make an exception. After all, he was the Hyūga clan heir. He could bend the rules a little now.

"Byakugan!" he shouted, turning on his clan's Kenkai Genkai. And what he saw stopped him in his tracks. His fists clenched at the sight of his cousin wrapped up in her boyfriend's arms- naked! Neji did not need to be a genius to know what they were doing (even if he was one).

His familial protectiveness kicking in, he charged up chakra in his fist before unleashing it on the door, sending it's splintered remains across the room.

The sleeping couple bolted up, their bare and naked bodies showcased to the furious shinobi. Hinata screamed in shock as she realized her chest was on display, and made a futile attempt to cover herself with her hands. But Neji was too busy seeing red to notice his cousins... generous assets. And he knew just who to direct that anger at.

"YOU!" Neji shouted, the sheer anger in his voice causing both lovers to tremble. With none of his trademark grace and dignity, he lunged straight for the town's hero, murder in his eyes.

Sensing his death drawing nigh, Naruto leaped out of the way of his friend's strike, rolling over unceremoniously onto his floor. Gathering his senses again, he stared up at the now towering Neji, his white eyes dancing with the fires of unreasonable hatred.

Naruto knew he had to get out. _Fast_.

"Um, See ya later, Hinata! Love ya!" he called, before vanishing in a puff of smoke and reappearing outside on the rooftops.

Neji was on his case, however. "Get back here!" he screamed bloody murder, before leaping out of the open window after the defiler of his precious cousin.

* * *

Naruto had encountered many dangers over his career as a Shinobi. From his confrontation on his first real mission against the infamous Demon of Kir, Zabuza Momochi, to his battle against he rampaging Gaara, to his fight against Sasuke at the Valley of the End, to his triumph against the menacing Kakazu of the Akatsuki, to saving Konoha from the Akatsuki's false leader, Pain, to saving the Shinobi World against the rampaging Juubi and it's mad masters, Naruto was no stranger to danger.

But he had to admit that being chased by his enraged close friend across the rooftops of Konoha, naked, made him more fearful for his life than he had ever been.

Or for his manhood.

"Get back here, you blasted defiler!"

_'Oh shit!'_ Naruto cursed to himself as he leaped over an alleyway, showcasing his ding dong to the cats below. However, he was so terrified of the raging lunatic behind him, the fact that he was naked didn't even register!

The morning sun rose above them, and with it came people going about their morning chores. As citizens living in a village of ninja, all of the residents of Konoha had more or less gotten used to the hustle and bustle of ninjas flying from rooftop to rooftop, and hardly ever paid it any mind anymore. They had even gotten used to some rather peculiar personalities, as they knew them to be good ninjas at their core. However, not many of them were used to seeing their town's hero leaping from building to building, naked as the day he was born.

"Cover your eyes!" a mother yelled at her son from across the street, who was staring wide eyed at the spectacle above him, an innate curiosity propelling him to disobey his mother. Seeing that her son wouldn't listen to her, she quickly covered his eyes for her.

"Mom! I can't see!" he whined, struggling to remove her hands from his eyes. However, she didn't remove them even when the naked offender was gone, and the next ninja to leap was not nearly as nude as the one who came before him. But the mother still shuffled her son into an store that was opening for the day, eager to wash that image from his mind.

But Naruto paid them no mind, scared to death as he was of just what the "Gentle Fist" could do to his "Little Naruto".Taking a look behind him, he saw that the killing intent radiating from Neji, and high tailed it even faster, if that were possible.

Hoping to gain an edge on Neji, he leaped down to the streets, unintentionally disturbing the citizens even more. Unfortunately, the Byakugan was all too capable of seeing where he went, and Neji was on the street within seconds to continue the chase.

Naruto was fast running out of ideas, struggling to think of any way out of thus as he narrowly dodged yet another wandering pedestrian. "Sorry!" he called out to the bewildered civilian, who unfortunately was too dumbfounded to avoid the still rampaging Neji.

_'He's just not giving up!' _Naruto shuddered, increasing his speed, unknowingly allowing his willy to flap even harder for the stunned onlookers.

* * *

"Can you place that flower over there?" Ino called to her helper for the day from across Yamanaka flower shop.

"Why, certainly, beautiful!" Sai called cheerfully as he did exactly what his friend did.

Ino naturally blushed lightly at her crush's compliment, turning away so that he couldn't see (despite his back already turned to her as he did what she asked). When she had asked Sai to help her with the shop the day before, she didn't expect him to start flirting with her! Then again, he always seemed to call her that. Maybe, just maybe...

(Of course, Ino still hadn't figured out the real reason why Sai called her beautiful. But perhaps that was just her crush on the artist talking.)

"Hm? What's all the commotion outside?" Sai asked, bringing Ino back from her thoughts.

_'Now that he mentions it, it does seem a bit hectic out there...' _ Going over by the window next to Sai, she took a look outside- and nothing could have prepared her for what she saw.

"Aah! Get away from me!"

"Get back here, you defiler!"

The two ninja stared wide eyed, neither believing the spectacle that just unfolded between their eyes, and neither knowing quite what to say.

Sai, of course, was the first to break the silence.

"Well!" he chimed, his ever present creepy smile gleaming at his friend. "I guess he wasn't Dickless, after all?"

"I'd say," Ino dumbly replied, her face stained by a blush as she remembered just what she had just seen.

* * *

_'There's no end to this!'_ Naruto panicked, rushing again through another corner. _'At least he doesn't have any long range jutsu...' _

Taking a deep breath he turned once more... only to find a dead end.

"I've got you now!" Neji roared as he charged up his gentle first, rushing straight at Naruto.

Panicking, Naruto momentarily forgot about his ninja ability to leap high distances, and froze in terror at the approaching threat, doing nothing to block the Gentle Fist aimed right at his wavering member...

"Now, what might this be about?"

Neji's attack was stopped in mid swing by a fist, and he turned his gaze up to see a familiar face, looking almost bored behind his mask.

"Could someone explain to me why the Hyūga heir has been chasing my naked student all across town? Because I can only think of one reason for this," Kakashi added with a mischievous tint to his voice.

"Huh? Nake..." Naruto finally took a glance down at what he was wearing- or rather, what he was now. "AAAAAH!" he screamed, trying to cover his length from the two on lookers with his hands.

"It's ok, Naruto, nothing the whole village hasn't seen already," Kakashi waved him off, before turning to Neji. "Now, you two may be important ninjas, but you did both disturbed the peace. As such, you will both have to report to the Hokage," Kakashi told the two, going back into business mode. "Oh, and here," he called, throwing a spare orange shirt and shorts at Naruto. "Can't have you showing Lady Tsunade, well, that?"

Naruto all too eagerly put on the clothing, wishing he could die from embarrassment. Glancing up at Neji when he was done her gave a weak grin, only for a deadly stare to be Neji's response. Naruto gulped.

"Ok, come on, you two," Kakashi called, leading them both out of the alley. "Oh, and Naruto," he called back at the boy from over his shoulder.

"Uh... yes, Kakashi-sensei?" he obediently replied.

"... Are you sure you didn't need my book? I'd be happy to offer it to you if you feel you need it." He offered, closing his eyes in his trademark smile.

"Ka-Kashi-sensei!" both Naruto and Neji yelled, both blushing at their perverted sensei's implication. However, Kakashi didn't appear to hear them, or rather, he chose not to, and turned his back on the two before walking out of the alley. After Neji and Naruto shook off the embarrassment, they tared awkwardly at each other before silently agreeing to settle this later. Knowing full well not to piss off the Hokage any more than they already did, they followed Kakashi out of the alleyway.


	17. Chapter 17

"Hmmmm," the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade Senju, sighed as she stared down at the two teenagers before her- brilliant shinobi, yes, but teenagers just the same.

"If I may..." Neji interrupted, having seemingly calmed down. However, the glare he received from the Hokage was enough to stop him from continued.

Tsunade creased her forehead, trying to calm herself down. "Now, you two," she ordered with a commanding tone, perfectly hiding her exasperation as a Hokage should. "The two of you have disturbed the peace, and created a mockery of the ninja of this village. At the very least, I know of a very wealthy merchant saw your... display, and I am unsure if he shall wish to pursue further business with Konoha because of it. And who knows who else was affected by your little show?"

Both Neji and Naruto hung their heads in shame, neither having though about what their activities might have made the village look like to outsiders, or affected its business. Guiltily, they both awaited the punishment for their actions.

"However," Tsnuade continued, turning her gaze to the boy who called her Grandmother. "Upon hearing about the circumstances of this... incident, I have judged Naruto to be free of all wrong doing and thus free to leave."

Both shinobi's mouths dropped in shock, neither truly understand right away what Tsunade had just said, but Neji was the first one to come back to his senses and speak. "Hokage-sama!" he pleaded. "Surely you don't mean to allow him-"

"Both Naruto and Hinata are legally adults. Unless you're implying that Naruto forced himself onto your cousin, they are both out of my reach." She took a moment from her lecture to soak in the sight of her favorite ninja's reddening face. "As for your little tour of the village, I find Naruto to have merely been acting in self defense, and caused little property damage. As such, Naruto, you are free to leave for now. As for you, Neji, you and I are going to have a short little talk..."

Naruto smiled gratefully at Lady Tsunade, grateful for her lenience. However, his smile faded as he turned to face his friend. Grinning awkwardly at him, all he got in return was a cold stare. He sighed.

"Err, thanks, Granny!" he called out to the Hokage, before making his way out of there before the tension killed him. As he rushed out of the room, thoughts of lavender eyes filled his mind, causing him to smile as he remembered his beautiful girlfriend, hot and sweaty as she lay beneath him as she stared at him with pure love in her gorgeous eyes, her head on his chest as they slept... _'Wait... I left her alone on our first night?! Shit! I better go find Hinata and apologize...'_

* * *

_'This is a disaster!'_

Hinata had more or less gotten over her lifelong tendency to faint (she had to eventually! After all, how could she sleep with the man she loved if she still fainted at the mere sight of him?), so she wasn't out cold like she could have been.

However, now she thought that being out like a light would probably be much more preferable than what she was getting.

After Neji chased Naruto out of their apartment, she had hurriedly put on the clothes she could find scattered around his room and left his apartment. However, it would seem that a naked man being chased by his girlfriend's over protective cousin allowed most everyone to figue out just what happened. Having the girl in question walk out of his apartment moments after the fact seemed to confirm it.

She tried following them, to try and talk some sense into her cousin, but she couldn't escape the stares. There wasn't anything malicious in them or anything- nothing like the ones she felt in her home back when she was a child, or the ones Naruto must have had to live with when he was a child. But the knowing looks, the raised eyebrows, the muffled snickers... She found herself hiding further and deeper into her jacket.

The sheer and utter embarrassment she felt even caused her to forget about her own ninja powers, preventing her from leaping out of the area or pinpointing the location of and chasing after her boyfriend and cousin. All she could think of crawling into a hole and never getting out.

"Well, hello there, Hinata!" she heard Sai's voice call from behind her. Gathering all her courage and will, she turned around to face his ever creepy, smiling face, as well as a shocked Ino.

"G-good morning, Sai-kun, Ino-chan" she said, as if nothing was wrong.

"We ran into Naruto earlier today," Sai said cheerfully. "It would seem as if he's not quite as dickless as I thought. I read that it's important to apologize after making lying to your friend, so if you would tell him to see me I would like to give him my sincere apologies."

Both girls blushed bright red at Sai's words, but Hinata's embarrassment faded as she caught a good glimpse at Ino's reaction. _'Did she... Is she...' _The very thought of someone else ogling _her_ Naruto-kun was enough to fill her with intense feelings of jealousy and anger. That was _her_ man, dammit!

However, before she could give Ino a piece of her mind, a stray thought hit her- Ino wasn't the only person who saw Naruto naked! Hell, half of the city probably ahd already, and the other half might by the time she stopped this whole thing!

"Hello?" Sai inquired, bringing Hinata back to reality. He raised his eyebrow. "Are you alright? You seemed to have spaced out there for a minute."

"Hm? Oh, I'm so sorry, Sai-kun, Ino-chan, but... I need to go!" Hinata bowed quickly to both of them before running away from her two friends without another word. Ino and Sai both blinked in surprise.

"Well, this is fun!" Sai chimed. "But I do suppose we should get back to work. Shall we?" He smiled at Ino, and left to return to the store before Ino had a chance to say anything. Blushing bright red as her mind mentally replayed that memory, Ino followed shortly after.

* * *

Hinata twiddled her fingers nervously as she waited outside the Hokage office, hoping against hope that the Hokage didn't punish her boyfriend and cousin too much. She had heard from Kakashi-sensei that he had taken the two of them to face remedial action for their "disturbance of the peace," and had been waiting outside the Hokage's office ever since.

_'I just hope they're ok...'_ she thought, silently cursing how Neji had ruined their first night. Well, to be fair, their first time was better than she had ever imagined it would be, and she couldn't wait to do it again! She just... hoped it wouldn't be so _public_... ever again.

Her thoughts were interrupted as the front door opened, and she turned to see exactly who was coming out. She grinned when she saw Naruto coming out, alone and unharmed.

Naruto gave her his trademark grin as he saw her, only to have a beautiful girl literally throw herself at him. He didn't even have time to be surprised as his arm instinctively wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

"Hey there, beautiful," Naruto chuckled, brushing her cheek with his free hand, getting a gentle purr in response. He smiled.

For a brief moment, the two of them stayed like that, unaware of the outside world, simply soaking in the affection and love they held for one another. However, they were swiftly brought back to the real world.

"You know, after that little show you had earlier, you might want to not be so open with your displays of affection."

The two let go of each other like two teenagers caught in the act (which, of course, they were), to face a smirking Shikamaru.

"What do you want, Shikamaru?" an irritated Naruto growled at the intrusion, prompting Shikamaru to sigh dramatically.

"Troublesome..." he muttered as he ran his fingers through his hair. However, he had a job to do, and so quickly got back into business mode. "Well, seems you forgot that you had a meeting with Lady Tsunade this morning, which is why Neji went to your apartment, seeing as how you had... other plans," he commented dryly.

Naruto gulped, having completely forgotten about his meeting with the Hokage. "Uh... sorry," he grinned cheekily.

Shikamaru merely shook his head, sighing exasperatedly. "Honestly, if you're planning to become the Hokage, you should probably try and get more organized."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "Well, you know what happens when you're with a beautiful girl," he grinned cheekily, causing hi girlfriend to blush bright red and earning him a light hearted slap from her.

Shikamaru just shook his head. "Troublesome," he sighed, fighting back a blush of his own. "Well, anyway, Lady Tsunade forgot to tell you this while you were up there, so I'm here to give you the mission report while the Hokage chews out Neji."

Hinata looked down at the ground, downcast over getting her cousin in trouble. However, a comforting hand on her shoulder and a bright smile brightened her back up.

"So, what's up?" Naruto asked the Nara, finally getting down to business.

"We've got reports of a missing nin lurking around the western borders of Fire Country. Lady Tsunade has designated you to pick out a three man squad and apprehend this criminal."

Naruto blinked. "I can pick... anyone?" Upon seeing his friend nod his head tiredly, he turned to face his girlfriend with a big grin on his face. "Well, Hinata?" he asked her with a childish gleam in his eye.

Hinata giggled at her boyfriend's smile and antics as she lovingly grabbed her boyfriends arm, rubbing her cheek against his shoulder. "Of course I will," she smiled, happy to spend more time with her boyfriend.

A cough brought them back to reality. "Well, I'm sure you two lovebirds would love to spend this mission together," Shikamaru said dryly. "However, you do need a third ninja for this mission."

Naruto thought for a moment about who to bring, before snapping his fingers. "What about Sakura?" he exclaimed. He turned to his girlfriend excitedly, eager to spend time with his girlfriend and best friend. "What do you think, Hinata?"

Hinata tried to hide her frown. She knew that Sakura held feelings for her boyfriend- and, even after everything she did with him, she was worried that her boyfriend still had feelings for his childhood crush, and might leave her if he knew how she felt. However, seeing Naruto's gleam in his eyes, as well as remember this was _Naruto_ she was talking about, allowed her to threw those feelings out.

"Ok, Naruto-kun," she tried to smile.

"Well, you should probably go get her, then," Shikamaru pointed out. "Now, if you excuse me, I have to go write up a report on this stupid thing. Later," he waved at the two before going back inside the building.

"Well, I'll go get her," Naruto said cheerfully. "You just go get ready, and we'll meet up at the front gate in an hour or so."

"Ok, Naruto," Hinata nodded in response, letting go of Naruto's sleeve. Naruto grinned cheekily, and surprised her by giving her a loving peck, Shocked, she raised her fingers to her lips and lay them there for a moment, not even noticing when Naruto zipped away into the tree tops. Even after sleeping with him, she still couldn't believe he did that, that she was dating him, that any of this was real! It was like some sort of magical fairy tale, better than she could ever have dreamed.

She just hoped that it would stay this way, forever...


	18. Chapter 18

_'Ah... that was a good night's rest...'_

Sakura hummed a blissful tune to herself as she stretched, knocking back the covers from her long and restful nap. It was a very good sleep, it's true: she had slept more than ten hours, without any of the tossing and turning that had plagued her nights as of late. She had nearly forgotten what it was like to be happy after everything that happened.

Sure, the man she loved was in a relationship with another woman, but that didn't have to be the end of her life! She was still his friend. She could live with that just fine. After all, he had done the same all the time that she was chasing after _him_. Back when he still feelings for her... Back when things could have been different...

She shook those thoughts away.

_'Maybe I should go find Naruto-kun... Haven't seen him in a while. Better just go check up, make sure he didn't do anything stupid.'_ Satisfied with this excuse to go see her infatuation, she finished getting dressed before leaving her apartment.

As she left her apartment and walked out onto the streets, she immediately noticed the gossiping crowds talking amongst themselves, as if she had missed something big. She raised her eyebrow. The streets were abnormally busy. _'Did I miss something?'_ she thought quizzically.

"Hey, Sakura!" a voice called from behind her, and she turned to face one of her friends.

"Oh, good morning, Kiba!" she greeted the Inuzuka, riding his faithful dog like a horse as he usually did. "I'm sorry, but would you happen to have any idea what happened here?"

"You mean you don't know?" Kiba raised his eyebrow. "I was hoping you'd know where to find the little bastard. I don't know whether I should kill him or congratulate him."

Sakura stared confusedly at the dog boy. "What are you saying?"

Kiba grinned, not able to conceal the playful mirth this subject brought him. "Well, let's just say that this was a morning this village will never forget."

Sakura listened as Kiba recalled the basic story- that a naked Naruto was chased across the village by an extremely pissed off Neji. And by the end of his tale, her heart had shattered into a million pieces.

"- and the worst part is, I don't know if I should clobber him for sleeping with my sister, or congratulate him for being the first of us to score," Kiba growled. "I mean, who would have ever thought that _Naruto_ would be the first one of us to score? Guess having a hot girl lusting after you your whole life really does you favors," he lamented, dropping his scowling disposition as he sighed in defeat.

Sakura, however, had to get out of there. "Yeah, yeah, that's really nice- um, look at the time! I really need to go!" Ignoring Kiba's protestations, she rushed back up into her building, up to her apartment, slammed the door behind her, crawled back into bed and succumbed to tears.

All of her earlier attempts and efforts to get that blonde bombshell out of her mind were suddenly tossed to the wayside at this news. All of her efforts to forgive and forget might as well have never happened, as the pain this realization caused tore away at her heart. Kiba may not have been explicitly stated it, but Sakura could put the pieces together as easily as anyone else in Konoa could.

Naruto had sex with Hinata.

She knew that her reaction was stupid, that she didn't have a chance with him anyway. She knew that it was only a matter of time before those two went and did something like that. But even though she knew it was futile, even though she knew it was nigh impossible, she still had held a glimmer of hope that she could be with Naruto. That, even though Hinata had taken his first kiss with a girl, she could still be his first woman. A stupid and selfish dream, perhaps, but a dream nonetheless.

But this was like adding salt to the wound. An ever-deepening wound, one that would never go away.

Sakura sniffed, trying to stop herself from crying. 'It's over,' she cursed herself. _'I'll never have him. I missed my chance..._

_'Maybe I should just accept Lee's offer and go out on a date with him...'_

Suddenly, her moping was interrupted by a barrage of knocks on the front door. "Sakura, you in there?"

Immediately, she sat straight up, a shocked expression on her face._ 'It's him!'_

"J-just a minute!" Sakura yelled back at him, before rushing back into her bathroom. She took a moment to splash some water on her face and fluffing her hair, making sure that all evidence of her tears were gone. She glanced at her reflection once more before deeming her appearance passable. Nodding in acceptance at her appearance, she rushed over to the door and opened it, only to see the cause of her heartbreak staring at her with a heart melting grin.

"Hey, Sakura," he grinned, a slight glimmer of cockiness in his eyes that wasn't usually there. Sakura fought the lump in her throat.

"Hey there, baka," she greeted him, ignoring the pounding sensation in her chest as she stared at his gorgeous blue eyes. "What's up?"

"Orders from Granny Tsunade, we've got a mission!" Naruto exclaimed, almost bopping up and down in excitement.

Whereas once she would have found this very Naruto-like action annoying, now Sakura found it very cute and had to stifle a giggle at his overwhelming enthusiasm. _'A mission... with Naruto? Can I...handle that, after this? Well, at least Sai will be there to make things less weird...'_ She had to stop herself from bursting out into laughter at that thought.

"Well, alright, I hear ya. Did you already tell Sai?"

Naruto froze as he remembered the third member of their trio, before rubbing the back of his head awkwardly and letting out a small laugh. "Uh, actually," he chuckled," Granny Tsunade put me in charge of this mission, and allowed me to pick my team, and I didn't even think about Sai..."

_'Don't tell me...'_ Sakura gulped in fear, silently dreading the next words that would come out of his mouth.

"I wasn't really thinking, and I just kind of already asked Hinata to be our third member."

_'Of course he did... ' _she sighed._ 'Well... Shit.'_

* * *

"Hiashi-sama?"

The man in question looked up from his papers as his nephew entered the room. He put his work down as he greeted him. "Ah, yes, Neji-san. Come on in."

Neji bowed his head respectfully as he entered his uncle's study. After the verbal lashing he had received from the Hokage, he did not want to cause further damage to his reputation, or perhaps even his chances to become clan heir. All he could do was hope that his uncle would see it his way.

"Neji-san," the clan head of the Hyūga declared with a commanding aura, causing the boy in question to stand up straight and tall. "I have been receiving some troubling reports of what you have been doing this morning. Allow me to read them to you, and tell me if they sound familiar to you at all."

Neji gulped at his uncle's actions, a shimmer of fear running down his spine that that he did not often feel.

"Used the Byakugan to peep into someone's home," Hiashi began reading off the list, his eyes still focused squarely on his nephew. "Broke into his home, destroyed his property. Pursued and attempted to assault a fellow Konoha shinobi. Does any of this sound familiar to you?"

Neji squirmed under his uncle's penetrating stare. "To be fair, sir, I was merely trying to protect Hinata-sama's honor..."

"Ah yes, Hinata-chan," Hiashi sighed, folding his hands together. "No father wants to know the intimate details of where and when his daughter gave herself to he man she loves. I would have greatly preferred remaining in ignorance, on this matter. However..."

Hiashi returned his harsh and cold stare, refined through many years of training, back on his now visibly sweating nephew. "That is no excuse for your actions. As future clan head, I would have expected more from you."

His eyes widening at the implications, Neji bowed his head halfway to the floor. "Forgive me, Hiashi-sama. It will not happen again."

"I sure hope so," Hiashi nodded. "For the time being, however, your actions have caused dishonor on the Hyūga name. As such, I will temporarily put on hold your consideration as clan head, and will decide on further action depending on how you behave."

The color in Neji's face drained as he heard what his uncle said, struggling to make sure that he heard him right. "Sir...?"

"You heard me," Hiashi proclaimed, his loud and commanding tone giving a sense of finality to the situation. For one of the first moments of his life, Neji lost his composure, staring down at the floor with a distraught look in his eye. Hiashi sighed.

"Neji-kun," he said, bringing his nephew's eyes back up to him. "I realize what you were intending to do, but you have to understand that Hinata-chan is, by all means, a grown woman now. And though I do not want her to grow up, I understand that she must. And... these activities are simply something grown shinobi do." Hiashi fought back an unbecoming blush as he struggled to not picture his precious daughter doing... _that_.

"Besides," Hiashi continued, raising his eyebrow at his unsure nephew. "Are you saying that you haven't done anything with that girl on your squad? Tenten, was it?"

Immediately, Neji's face rivaled that of a tomato. "N-no!" he sputtered, shocked that his proud and reserved uncle would say such a thing! "We haven't... we aren't..."

"Hm..." Hiashi contemplated. "Perhaps this is my fault. I haven't properly prepared you for the art of wooing. I must correct this mistake."

Neji turned as white as a ghost. "A-are you saying I should... you should..."

"A shinboi's life is quite difficult, as I'm sure you are well aware. At any given moment, one might kill, or force to be killed. It is thus very common, and perfectly natural, for shinobi to deal with the stress caused by these activities by engaging in.. their more carnal desires," Hiashi put plainly, staring expressionless at his shocked nephew.

A rare look of complete and utter speechlessness on his usually composed face, Neji nevertheless managed to stutter out, "A-are you saying that you.. you and the late Lady Harune..."

Hiashi simply smirked.

* * *

"Alright, guys!" Naruto shouted to Sakura and Hinata, his peppy cheerfulness in contrast to the animosity between his fellow squad mates. "Let's get a move on!" he yelled as he began walking out the front gate.

Hinata knew she didn't have much to worry about. Or at least, she didn't think she did. She hoped she didn't. But the fact remained, her boyfriend's former crush who just fell in love with him was going to spend an entire mission with them. And, even though she knew Naruto loved her, deep in her heart there was a lingering fear that she might lose him if he knew of Sakura's new found feelings for him.

Sakura, meanwhile, knew that her two squad mates had just slept together. As if that weren't awkward enough, it was her crush and his girlfriend. And she would have to make both of them think nothing was going on.

Naruto, of course, was as oblivious as ever. "Hey, you two coming?" he called, interrupting the heated staring contest that had broken out between Hinata and Sakura. "Come on, we need to get a move on!"

Taking one last glance at each other, they turned to face their mutual interest. "Coming!" they both rang out, as they rushed ahead to Naruto. As they reached him, all three vanished up into the trees.


	19. Chapter 19

Three shadows leaped from tree branch to tree branch, taking care not to disturb the environment and alert it to their presence. They were skilled ninja, knowing how to make it seem as if they were never there.

At point was Hinata, her Byakugan allowing her to pinpoint where exactly they were supposed to go. Flanking her right was Sakura, trying to focus entirely on the mission. To her left was Naruto, who was currently going over the mission briefing Shikamaru had given him.

"His name is Ichigo Manyuka. Apparently, about seven years ago on a mission, he killed his two teammates and became a rogue ninja." He scowled, thinking about just how maniacal someone would have to be to kill his teammates.

"Not only that," Sakura interrupted, remembering that name. "But one of his teammates was his wife!" She scowled herself as she remembered him.

"How do you know this?" Hinata asked, never taking her eyes off the trees ahead.

"Because the third member of the group," Sakura frowned, "Was Ino's aunt. Yohasha Yamanaka. Ino was crying for a week after she died."

"Huh. Think I remember that," Naruto pondered, recalling his academy days- not something he usually did. "Tried saying something to her... and then you kind of bopped me on the head, Sakura. Heh heh." He chuckled nervously.

An immense rain of guilt washed down upon Sakura. That's right, she did hit Naruto when he was trying to help her friend... something about Naruto getting too close to her... no, wait, it was Sasuke. When Naruto tried to help Ino, he inadvertently sat near Sasuke, who was trying to ignore them of course, and she had hit him... Of course, Naruto would call it a bop in the head, but Sakura knew better. She never simply gave him a bop in the head.

"Hey, come on, Sakura," Naruto pleaded, having noticed the sad look on her face. "Don't be like that. It's alright. I'm not mad or anything." Sakura turned to face him, and, noticing the sincere smile on his face, she could no help but immediately feel better. Happier, she gave him a warm smile of her own.

Naruto may have been considered dense and an idiot, but even he could see the strange intensity of Sakura's smile, so different thanwhat he remembered seeing her look at him. It was almost like... the one Hinata gave him?

"We should keep moving," Hinata interrupted the two of them, feeling strangely jealous at their interaction. Both of her squad mates turned their gazes from another. Neither saw the faint blush on each of their cheeks, to both of their reliefs.

Sakura, of course, knew full well why she was blushing. She ahd been doing it more than she could count as of late. But Naruto? He had no clue. _'I already have a girlfriend! I can't be looking at other girls! Besides, it's not like Sakura was really looking at me like that... right?'_

Hinata, however, could see both of their blushes with the Byakugan. And just like that, she could feel her heart breaking. She knew of Sakura's feelings for him, but she had hoped that Naruto wouldn't dredge up some of her old feelings for his pink haired teammate.

But she wouldn't lose him that easily.

_'This means war, Sakura.'_

The three continued on in silence, all lost in their own thoughts as they continued to chase after the missing nin.

* * *

With a fierce blush covering his face, Neji left his uncle's office. He did _not_ need to know some of those details.

With a sigh, he decided he needed a walk. To get as far away from his home as possible.

As he began walking out onto the streets of Konoha, he could not help but notice the stares he received. They weren't the kind he normally received, those of pride or admiration... no, these were... mocking? Look of disdain and disgust? People giving him a dirty look as they shuffled off into stores and alleyways? No matter how hard he tried to ignore or avoid them, there was no hiding from their eyes.

Seeing that he wasn't going to get any more peace and quiet here than he would back in his home, Neji decided to go train for a bit. Perhaps that would help him forget all about what had just happened.

As he made his way to the training field, he ran into his two squad mates walking toward- a slightly sulking Tenten, and a very... Lee-like Lee.

"Um, hey there, Neji," Tenten waved, look visibly nervous.

"Hello, Tenten-chan, Lee-kun," Neji bowed to both in succession.

"So, what's the deal, Neji?" Lee shouted boisterously, wrapping his arm around his rival's neck and pulling him toward him.

"W-what do you mean?" Neji stuttered like a certain cousin of his, weirded out by his friend's strange behavior. … Even stranger behavior.

"The whole town is talking about how you... er..." Tenten thought about how to best ask this. "Were chasing a naked Naruto all around the village this morning?"she said, eventually deciding on just going straigt to the punch.

"Er... Well, yes, but I mean..." Neji found himself pressing his fingers together, before forcing himself to stop and clench his fists together in anger. "It was Naruto! I found him... in... bed with Hinata-chan!"

His two friends simply stared at him incredulously for a few moments, before both began to chuckle nervously.

"Oh... is that it?" Tenten laughed, rubbing the back of her head awkwardly. Still, Neji could have sworn he saw a bit of... relief?

"What do you mean, is that it? He-" Neji snapped at her, before remembering what his uncle said earlier. He tried to hide his blush.

"_God_," Tenten rolled her eyes dramatically. "You're such a prude, Neji," she chided him, lightly nudging him with her elbow in a playful manner.

"I'll say!" Lee agreed with the brunette kunoichi. "Why, Naruto and Hinata are simply showcasing their brilliant power of YOUTH!" he ended by brilliantly giving a thumbs up to the distance. Neji and Tenten sweat dropped.

"So, what, are you implying that you... you know?" Neji asked his friend, even though he knew it would be better not to.

"Hm? Oh, no!" Lee said, violently shaking his head back and forth. "However, once I win the heart of the fair Sakura, I'm sure that I will take great pleasure deflowering that young blossom!" He smiled, folding his hands as he stared off into the sunset, his eyes miraculously transforming into hearts. His two squadmates simply stared blankly at him.

_'Please don't tell me he actually understands what he just said,'_ was all Tenten could think.

"And what about you?" Neji said, once he successfully stopped all of the bile from rising out of his throat. "Have you...?"

"Oh, no!" Tenten said, a faint blush coloring her cheeks as she vehemently denied her friend's accusations. "I never- I mean, with the right person..." She averted hr gaze, her blush deepening by the minute.

Neji raised his eyebrow, wondering what was up with her. It was then that his uncle's words rang in his ears once again.

"_Besides," Hiashi continued, raising his eyebrow at his unsure nephew. "Are you saying that you haven't done anything with that girl on your squad? Tenten, was it?"_

_Immediately, Neji's face rivaled that of a tomato. "N-no!" he sputtered, shocked that his proud and reserved uncle would say such a thing! "We haven't... we aren't..."_

"_Hm..." Hiashi contemplated. "Perhaps this is my fault. I haven't properly prepared you for the art of wooing. I must correct this mistake."_

Neji had thought his uncle was mad, but could it be...?

"Well, anyway," Lee said, bringing both Neji and Tenten back to earth. "This is definitely better than the rumor that was going around."

"Rumor?" Neji raised his eyebrow, remembering the looks that people were still giving him. "What rumor?"

"Well," Tenten chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of the head. "Word around town is that... well..." She stopped, unsure about how to say it.

"Yes?" Neji prodded her.

"Well... people are saying... heh..." she didn't continue, causing Neji to raise his eyebrow.

Lee interrupted, saving Tenten. "People are saying that you were trying to rape Naruto."

They were silent for a few moments.

"_WHAT?!"_

* * *

The three ninja were still silent as they continued through the treetops, but their heads were filled with questions and no answers.

Sakura tried to ignore her feelings for Naruto and focus on the mission. Naruto tried to ignore the all too familiar sensation he got from that look on Sakura's face earlier. And Hinata tried to ignore that creeping feeling of jealousy rising in her heart.

But no matter how hard they tried to ignore it, they couldn't just push those feelings aside.

Suddenly, Hinata raised her hand, the first sign of communication between the trio in a while. Both of her squad mates halted at the motion.

All three waited, none making a sound as they listened in to see what Hinata had sensed. Hearing bristling leaves, they all silently nodded to each other before leaping away.

As they got closer to the source of the disturbance, they immediately checked around to see what was in the area, fruitlessly. Hinata checked around with her Byakugan. Not seeing any abnormal chakra. However, there was an odd glow growing...

"Look out!" Hinata called, leaping away to push the closest person away from the exploding tag, which just so happened to be Sakura. As the exploding tag blew up, Hinata pushed Sakura down to the ground, narrowly knocking her out of the way of the explosion.

Unfortunately, it just so happened that Hinata's lips fell right on Sakura's own.

The two remained like that for a moment, neither knowing quite what to do or say as their lips stayed connected, both staring wide eyed straight at the other.

"Oh..." a moan came, drawing them both back to reality. Shaking off of each other, they hastily tried to forget what just happened as they rushed straight at their team mate.

"Naruto-kun!" Sakura shouted as she began to heal her friend's damaged body, causing Hinata to raise her eyebrow in jealousy at her use of the honorific.

"It's ok, Sakura-chan," Naruto tried to console her, before coughing up blood. "I heal fast..."

"You don't have the Kyuubi in you anymore, Naruto-kun," Sakura scolded him. "You don't heala s quickly as you used to."

"Oh yeah," Naruto chuckled humorously, before groaning in pain.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata rushed to his side, but Sakura shooed her away.

"I'll take care of him. You just keep a lookout for whoever attacked us."

Hinata was about to argue, but she knew Sakura was right. Sighing, she got up and activated her Byakugan, keeping an eye out for anyone as Sakura continued healing Naruto.

_'Be safe, Naruto-kun...'_ both girls pleaded.

* * *

"Konoha's Golden Fox? You think we can last a minute against him?"

"He no longer has the Demon Fox inside of him. That was the source of most of his power during the Fourth Great Ninja War. Besides, we managed to injure him with that exploding tag, did we not?"

"Yes, but..." Ichigo sighed. He knew his comrade was right, but he still couldn't get over the fact that they were fighting against _him_. He remembered when the Kyuubi attacked the village. Even if it was only its empty shell, it was still a fragment of the Kyuubi's power. And he did not want to deal with that.

"Oh, relax, my love," his lover giggled, playfully swatting at him. "We can easily take down those troublemakers, and then hightail it out of Fire Country. Don't worry, I have a plan. And don't you trust me, Ichigo-kun?"

Ichigo grinned at her, a dumb yet ecstatic grin. "Of course I do, Yohasha-chan."


	20. Chapter 20

"Ow, Sakura, that hurts..."

"Well, if you didn't move, then it wouldn't hurt as much!"

"OW! You did that on purpose!"

"Oh, for once in your life, be quiet! I'm trying to heal you, for God's sake!"

"It's hard- ow!- when you're poking me like that- AH!"

"Oh, for heaven's sake, you baka-"

"Excuse me, but if you both don't shut up, then they'll know for a fact that we're here," Hinata snapped at her bickering teammates.

Sakura and Naruto looked at her in shock, as she turned from them with an angry gleam in her eyes. Both Sakura and Naruto gave each other a troubled glance, and Sakura began healing Naruto silently. Not wanting to piss off his girlfriend any further, Naruto simply bit his lip through the pain.

For a few minutes, none of the three dare to speak to each other, Sakura merely continuing to apply chakra to Naruto's wounds as Hinata kept watched. After a brief while, when Sakura was satisfied with her work, she stopped the medical procedure.

"Okay, I think that should do it," she told him, and Naruto grinned in excitement.

"Finally!" he exclaimed, standing up with a happy grin on his face. "That took forever- er, no offense, Sakura," he chuckled, rubbing the back of his head as he apologized to his friend. "About complaining, I mean," he added, giving his best friend a very sorrowful look.

Try as she might, Sakura could not get angry at that face. Averted her eyes from him so she would not blush, she simply muttered "It's alright," not daring to look at him as she did so.

Hinata was no fool, and noticed her squad mate's reaction to _her_ Naruto-kun. "If you too are quite done," she huffed angrily, "I do believe we should set up camp. I'll go get some water and fish for dinner." Without even waiting for a reply, she dashed off into the woods, leaving Naruto and Sakura alone.

They stayed like that for a bit, neither talking to the other. Finally, Naruto broke the awkward moment. "I'll, uh, go have a talk with Hinata-chan." And before Sakura could say anything, he ran off after his girlfriend, leaving his best friend alone.

Sakura stared at where the two of them had gone, but did not follow. Lonely and depressed, she sat down on the ground, wrapping herself up into a fetal position.

* * *

Beneath the waterfall, Hinata wrapped her arms around her knees, taking a good hard look at the falling water that symbolized her mood.

Was she really losing Naruto, after having come this far, after having made love to him? Or was she just overreacting? She knew Naruto wouldn't cheat on her, he was too good for that, but she still couldn't help but fear...

"Hey, Hinata," the source of her worry called from behind her, and she froze at the sound of his voice. He sat down right beside her and looked worriedly at her. "Is there anything you want to talk about?"

Hinata sighed as she stared intently at the water beneath her feet. She really didn't want to talk about this... but she knew she had to. "It's just," she sighed, shaking her head. "I now how you used to feel about Sakura, and I'm..."

"Jealous?" Naruto finished for her, a concerned frown on his face.

Her silence was the only answer he needed.

"Listen, Hinata-chan," Naruto comforted her, before swiftly pulling her in for a hug. Despite her anger, she could not help but feel her face burn up as he did so, even after having been his girlfriend for all of this time. "Sakura-chan doesn't even like me like that, and even if she did, I wouldn't dare lay a finger on another girl. Not when I have you." He smiled brightly at her, and Hinata couldn't help but feel captivated by those soulful blue eyes, so full of love as they were.

Unable to contain herself, Hinata lunged for him, greedily taking his lips into her own. Without even having time to think about what just happened, Naruto eagerly responded to the kiss. Hinata mewed in delight as she felt his arms wrap around her waist, pulling her closer and closer to him.

Their tongues wrestled, their lust and love quickly melting into one as they lost themselves in the others mouths. Succumbing to her deepest desires, Hinata moved her fingers toward Naruto's trousers and began pulling them down.

His eyes bulged out in surprise, and he broke the kiss, to his lover's dismay. "We can't, Hinata-chan," he breathed with a hint of regret. "Not now."

Frowning at her lover's reluctance, Hinata nonetheless decided to force Naruto to make love to her. Reaching down to grab his length through his trousers, she began massaging it, drawing out a moan from the expecting blonde.

"Oh... Hinata," he grunted and gasped, while Hinata's lithe and delicate fingers began stroking him harder and harder. "We... We have to get back to Sakura..."

Frowning at the mention of the object of her scorn's name, and not wanting to let him go this easily, Hinata decided to kick things up a notch. Ignoring his earlier protestations, she pulled down on his trousers and freed his manhood from its constraints, having it flop up straight into her face. Towering right in front of her, she could not help but salivate a little at the sight.

Naruto knew that this was the wrong place, the wrong time, that they should focus on the mission; however, watching his shy and (or so he thought) prude girlfriend staring at his length with a deep, lustful hunger in her eyes was almost more than he could handle. Swiftly and surely, he found himself consumed by lust as well.

Hinata stared down at Naruto's length, her eyes gleaming like a child being offered a new toy. She hardly knew what to do with it! However, a stray thought entered her mind- how surprisingly pleasant the taste of Naruto's cum was the last time they did it. _'What would it be like if I took the whole thing into my mouth...' _she wondered. Gathering all of her courage, she lowered her head to reach the object of her fascination.

With a wide eyed and disbelieving look, Naruto watched as his sweet and innocent girlfriend took his length in her mouth. The wet confines of her mouth proved irresistible to his male brain, and even though he already already had sex with the girl, a blowjob somehow seemed even more erotic to him. Steeling himself, he prepared for his girlfriend's onslaught.

Her tongue traveled around his tip, teasing him like she had read in the books she had once "borrowed" from Kurenai-sensei- for research, of course! A girl had to know how to please her man, after all. To her relief, a pleasurable grunt told her she was doing a good job. Hinata smiled against his length, pleased with herself. To be honest, she was a bit worried she wouldn't be any good, but it would seem that it didn't take much to please her man. However, she needed to seal the deal- and if she was to be perfectly honest with herself, Naruto's length tasted even better than she had imagined.

She began taking more of him into her mouth, managing to fit the entire tip before she needed a moment to get used to this sensation. She licked around the edge of the tip, gently bobbing her head up and down. Naruto groaned in pleasure, telling her in a way that it was okay to continue. She began moving her head downward, taking another inch or so of his glorious length into her eagerly awaiting mouth.

Naruto desperately tried to think about jutsu or training, anything to get his mind off of the pleasure he was feeling and maintain it for just a bit longer. But Hinata's wet cavern taking his length,her delicate tongue caressing it's sides all the while, was proving to be too much for the boy to bear. Despite his efforts, he could feel his release approaching. "I-I'm cumming!" he yelled, trying to give his girlfriend some warning. But to his surprise, she did not let go off his manhood, instead choosing to grip it even tighter.

Hinata wasn't expected him to orgasm so soon, and thus was not fully prepared for the hot rush of his seed that were flowing into her mouth. Nonetheless, she took it in great stride, determined to prove to Naruto that she was the woman for him. She greedily swallowed his cum, though a few drops dripped out of her mouth. When Naruto finished squirming in pleasure, and there was nothing coming anymore, she released his length.

Naruto gasped up in shock at the sight of his girlfriend, his cum all over her face. However, Hinata wasn't done yet, as she began licking around her mouth, taking in each drop left. She made sure her boyfriend got quite the show as she made sure not to miss a single drop, and for him to not miss a single instance. _'Salty,' _she giggled softly to herself as she finished licking it up.

For a few brief moments, Naruto sat in shock, the aftereffects of what had just transpired needing a minute to take his toll. Once he realized it, however, he gasped in shame, before getting up, pulling up his trousers, and sitting down further down the stream, away from Hinata. Giving him a worried look, Hinata nonetheless allowed him to have a moment. For a few minutes, they sat like that, neither saying a word to the other.

"Sorry," he said, breaking the silence.

"For what?"

"For... cumming so soon," Naruto blushed despite himself, not daring to look her in the eyes as feelings of disgrace and inadequacy overtook him. _'I've disappointed my master...' _

However, to his surprise, he felt arms wrap around his shoulders as Hinata nuzzled his neck from behind. "Oh Naruto-kun," she giggled into his ear. "I don't mind. I'm just glad you enjoyed it. And honestly," she added with a blush, "I enjoyed it too."

"Hinata-chan..." Grateful for his girlfriend's understanding, he reached behind him to grab her hand with his own and held it tight. Turning his gaze to her, he smiled, a dazzling smile which she eagerly returned. He leaned in for a kiss.

"I love you," he said once he stopped kissing her, to her delight.

"I love you too," she replied, the words just slipping right out of her tongue. She leaned in for another kiss, but Naruto's finger got in the way.

"I'd love you," he grinned cheekily at her, "but we did promise Sakura we'd go get some food and water, and besides, we are supposed to be on a mission her."

Frowning at this, Hinata nonetheless agreed with her boyfriend. Shaking off her feelings of shame for having forgotten why they were there, Hinata got up in order to help Naruto fish.

* * *

"Where are those two?" Sakura huffed as she sat by the tree stump, trying to ignore the fact that she very well knew where those two were.

_'I can't believe they went and abandoned me to have sex,'_ her inner self complained, trying to convince herself that she was angry they were abandoning the mission for something like this. But she knew all too well the real reason she was so upset.

Taking a deep sigh, she cursed both of them. "Finish up and get back her, you two," she cursed under her breath. "We have a fucking mission, after all."

Groaning, she rested her head against the tree stump. However, she soon felt something strange- something familiar, something that she had felt before, yet something completely unnatural, which, for some reason, she just couldn't put her finger on it...

_'Ugh... what happened...' _she mentally groaned, looking around the... black plane she now found herself in? '_Where am I?'_ she wondered.

_'Well, hello there.'_


	21. Chapter 21

The three Konoha shinobi formed a protective circle around Ichigo as they stared at the fuming new arrival. Their hands instinctively grabbed their kunai, read to pull them out at a moments notice.

"Give my Ichigo-kun back to me!" she hissed with a maniacal glimmer to her eyes, before rushing in at the three ninjas separating her from her precious. Now knowing Ichigo to be one of them, Naruto, Hinata and Sakura instinctively threw their kunai at the now revealed traitor.

Yohasha dodged the kunai, pulling out her own kunai in the process and aiming it straight at Hinata. However, her form was sloppy, and Hinata easily grabbed it in midair.

As Yohasha reached the three, she found herself rushing straight at Naruto. Gathering up her chakra in her fist, she launched a punch at tht blonde ninja. However, Naruto was too quick for her, grabbing her fist and knocking her backward.

Yohasha picked herself up, and then glared daggers at Naruto. "Demon scum!" she hissed, staring with pure hatred at him. "Give me back my Ichigo-kun!"

Naruto had to hold himself, the pain of those words bringing back unwanted feelings from the horrible days of his youth. He did not want to give in to his basest desire to kill that bitch. He _couldn't_.

"Take that back!" Sakura, of all people retorted, her face contorting in rage at the slight on Naruto.

Yohasha turned her snarling face to Sakura. "Oh, you're one of those demon lovers? I've heard you've infested Konoha since I left. Disgusting. And now, not even will you let this... this _thing _idly run around your village, but you'll stand by him while he stands between me and my true love?!"

Sakura's fist clenched even tighter, if that were possible.

"HE." Sakura began charging chakra in her fist.

"IS NOT." She began pushing her fist back.

"YOUR." Her fist was on a collision course with Yohasha's face.

"TRUE LOVE!" Her fist fully connected with Yohasha, sending her flying backward into a tree.

Naruto and Hinata gawked at the furious sakura. They both knew her temper rivaled that of her sensei's, but this seemed unusual, even for her.

"Sakura-chan...?" Naruto said in shock, but it fell on deaf ears.

"You think you can just take whatever you want?" Sakura snapped, walking on over to the bruised and defeated Yohasha. "You think you can just disregard his feelings, treat him like a _possession_, and then feel the need to call _MY _friend a demon?"

Naruto involuntarily shivered. He knew how hard Sakura could punch when she was like this.

Yohasha tried to crawl backward, feeling the overflowing hatred coming from the pink haired girl. She soon could no longer crawl backward, though, as she hit a tree. She gulped.

"You rotten, no good bitch." With that, Sakura launched a punch at the trembling woman. And another. And another. But for a second, she did not see the blonde Yamanaka, but rather a mirror reflection of her own face.

She made sure the next punch hurt even more.

* * *

"Geez, Sakura-chan. Think you could have loosened up a bit?" Naruto joked, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head.

Sakura, however, simply stared off into space, lost in her own thoughts as she thought about Ichigo, Minoko and Yohasha... and more importantly, Naruto, Hinata and herself.

'_But I'd never do something like that!' _she tried to reason with herself. '_But... I just... Did I ever really love him to begin with? Or is this just another childish fantasy...'_

She sighed and closed her eyes in depression, confusing Naruto. "Um, Sakura-chan..." he

said, trying to grab her attention.

Hearing the voice of her crush, Sakura turned to him. "Hm?" she asked, trying to reather her thoughts. She was brought back fully to reality when she heard another male voice.

"Ugh... What... happened?"

As soon as they heard Ichigo's voice, Naruto and Sakura ran to join Hinata by his side. Kneeling down, Sakura began applying medical ninjutsu to one of his wounds.

"Who... are you...?" Ichigo whispered, his voice barely audible.

"Just stay calm, I'm applying medical jutsu and we'll get you all patched up," Sakura comforted the confused man.

Ichigo obviously did not truly know if she was to be trusted or not, so he instead turned his gaze over to the beaten body near him. "Yohasha...? What... happened... to her?"

Sakura and Hinata shared a look. "Looks like we've got to get up im to speed," Sakura realized. Hinata nodded in agreement.

* * *

"I... can't believe it"

The three ninjas stood silently, giving Ichigo some space as he came to grips with everything he had just learned: that his wife was dead, that he possibly killed her that he had spent the past seven years as a love slave to a woman he thought was his friend... and that wasn't even counting the word events such as the Uchiha Clan Massacre, the Akatsuki, the Fourth Great Ninja War, and the fact that the town pariah and demon child was now a hero beloved by the village. Naruto knew how much more troubling this last bit of information might be to someone who hadn't seen him the past seven years, so he made sure to give the man some distance.

However, Ichigo was too distraught over his personal problems to worry about him. "Did- Did I... actually do it myself..."

"I didn't see," Sakura admitted as she looked downcast. She knew how hard this must be for him. "But remember, it was Yohasha who was in control, not you."

Ichigo took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. "But... why would she do this?"

Hinata smiled sadly. "Women do stupid things when they're in love."

"Or at least think they are," Sakura finished, causing Hinata to look at her with shock.

"But... how could that be considered love..." Ichigo whispered through a cracking voice, tears beginning to form in his eyes. Tears for his lost seven years. Tears for his love, whom might have died by his own hands as far as he knew..

Sakura sighed. "I just don't know," she admitted, staring off into the distance.

Naruto sighed. He didn't want to be the bad guy, but he was the team leader, and this therapy session wasn't the best thing for a group of ninjas to do. "I'm sorry about all this, and I don't want to seem uncaring," Naruto said, drawing everyone's attention to himself. "But I think we should best be on our way. We need to get you to the medical and intel teams back in Konoha so they can make sure you're good to go."

Sakura and Hinata both looked at Naruto, and after finding it to make sense, they nodded in agreement. Ichigo was a bit slower to agree to the suggestion made by the boy he remembered fearing, but soon agreed. Naruto slung the criminals body over his shoulder, and the group was on its way back home.

* * *

"I see..." Tsunade said, folding her hands together and closing her eyes in thought as she processed this new information the group of four ninjas had told her. After thinking it over, she reopened her eyes and stared at the man who was the target for this mission."Thank you all for this. Ichigo, I'm afraid I'll need you to have to escort you to the intel unit. Not that I don't trust in my student's abilities, but I just need to make sure you're all right."

"Of course, Hokage-sama," Ichigo bowed respectfully. The two Anbu behind him signaled for him to follow them, and they left the room, leaving Tsunade alone with the three ninja.

"I would like to congratulate you all on a mission completed. Even though the mission changed, you were able to successfully adapt and make the right decision. I'm proud of you all. Dismissed."

The three ninjas thanked Tsunade in their own ways. As they were leaving the room, however Tsunade called out to them. "Oh, and Naruto: Try to be more discrete with her. Last thing we need is for you to showcase yourself to the entire village again."

Both Hinata and Naruto blushed bright red at the Hokage's playful jab, but Hinata soon looked at Sakura. The playful jab seemed to have stung her in ways the Hokage did not intend, but Sakura did a good job hiding it.

"Excuse me," Sakura nodded to the couple, and left in a hurry.

Naruto frowned, remembering just how hard Sakura took whatever she saw in Ichigo's mind. It looked like she had taken it harder than just seeing a person's dark past. And then he remembered when Yohasha tricked him with her bloody body, the hatred he felt, the overwhelming protectiveness that exceeded what he might ahve felt for his friends. And then he remembered her body, lithe and atheltic, not as developed as Hinata but with a cute allure to her. As much as he did not want to admit it, he could not help but start to see her in the light he used to see her in once again...

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata whispered, bringing Naruto back to the land of the living. He blushed bright red, ashamed at where his thoughts were taking him. _God damn it, I can't do that to Hinata-chan!'_ he mentally screamed at himself. Back in reality, he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Um, it's nothing," he chuckled nervously. Just then, he remembered something, the perfect thing to change the subject to. "Hey, we should go check on Neji! Last we saw him, we... well, we weren't in the best of positions."

Hinata blushed bright red as she remembered just what Naruto was talking about. If she was to be perfectly honest with herself, she wanted to do that again... but she knew that she would have to wait. "Alright," she smiled, before grabbing her boyfriends arm and nuzzling into it. Naruto smiled, and lead the way out of the office.

The two lovebirds had managed to forget they were in the same room as Tsunade, but she didn't really mind the reprieve from her boring paperwork. Shaking her head, she smiled at the doorway Naruto and Hinata had just walked through.

"Way to go, Naruto-kun. You've earned her," she smiled, a pure happiness radiating from her.

Sakura walked through the streets of Konoha, so lost in thought that she barely even noticed the people walking around her.

'_I don't want to be like Yohasha, so wrapped up in a lost love,'_ she thought to herself, '_Or hell, even like my infatuation with Sasuke not too long ago... I don't want to repeat that. And I don't want to become her.' Maybe it's time to move on... No. I NEED to move on_

Steadying herself with a newfound determination, she decided on her destination, and made her way there as swiftly as she could.

He was training, of course. Sakura almost felt sick at seeing the speed in which he did his warm-up sit-ups. Then again, she supposed she should not have expected otherwise. As she approached him, she took a deep breath. "Lee?"

Rock Lee stopped his exercise and looked at his new visitor. "Ah, Sakura-chan!" he called, getting up and running to her with a grin on his face. "How delightful it is to see you! You must have just gotten back from your mission?"

Sakura smiled at him, a bit of nervousness showing but she tried not to make it too noticeable. "Hey, Lee. Yeah, a few minutes ago."

"And you came to see me this quickly? To what might I owe this honor?" Lee exclaimed, with stars in his eyes. "I say, to be graced with a beautiful maiden such as yourself..."

Sakura blushed a bit, still unused to being flattered so. Although, Naruto and Lee did compliment her quite often, but she never really paid them much attention... Perhaps, now she was more willing to pay them mind...

"Well," Sakura said, trying to figure out just what to say. "Well..." she fluttered her eyelashes a bit. "I would like to accept your offer for a date."


	22. Chapter 22

"Oh..." Naruto groaned, faint images coming to his head as he returned to the land of the living. As he tried to make sense of the fuzziness in his eyes, he heard two feminine voices talking in hushed tones to one another.

"-I know I'm just being stupid, but..."

"Don't worry, Sakura. I understand completely."

"Sometimes, he's just such an idiot, I just... I don't know."

"Don't worry, no matter what, I-"

"Hey, I think he's waking up!"

Naruto turned his gaze toward his friend and girlfriend, his eyes groggy. He couldn't help but notice the blush on Sakura's face, and he slowly put the pieces together.

_'Does Sakura have a crush on someone...? Well, I hope so. She needs to move on from him, after all...'_

"Hey," he greeted, attempting to grin despite the pain. "I've really been having an off day, haven't I?" He chuckled lightly, before remembering just why he was injured this time. "Wait, Sakura-chan, are you-"

"It seems like Ichigo isn't the only one we have to worry about," Sakura said grimly. "Someone possessing the Yamanaka Mind Body Transfer technique managed to take control of my body, and deliver heavy wounds to both of us. Luckily, Hinata-chan was able to heal me, and I was able to undo the poison I gave you."

Naruto sighed in relief despite himself, happy that Sakura didn't actually betray him. "That's good," he smiled, before realizing what Sakura said. _'Hinata-chan?' _he wondered, curious as to when his best friend got on such good terms with his girlfriend. However, he decided to let that thought go for now; he had the mission to worry about, and besides, he still hurt like hell.

"This is the second time this mission you've been critically wounded," Sakura almost smirked at him, earning her an embarrassed grin. "You must be losing your touch."

Naruto chuckled despite the pain. "Maybe, but I can still kick your ass anyday," he teased her, causing his pink haired friend to roll her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, sure," she brushed him off, before suddenly changing to a more concerned tone. "So, are you feeling alright? I tried to do my best to counteract the poison, but-"

"I'm fine, Sakura-chan," he told her. Eager to confirm this to both them and himself, he started to push himself up from the ground, but he found this to be too painful and fell back to the ground with a painful groan.

"Don't push yourself!" Sakura chided the blonde as she hovered over him, a worried expression on her face as she looked over his wound. "Don't want the Hero of the fourth Great Ninja War to die like this, do we?"

Naruto chuckled. "I guess not," he admitted, reluctantly allowing himself to rest back and let Sakura take a look at his wounds.

Hinata smiled at the sight of Naruto shutting up and listening to a medic. He had surely grown up a lot over the years, but most imporantly he was still _Naruto_. No matter what, he would always be that adorable little goofball who tried his best that she had fallen in love with oh so many years ago, no matter how much older or more experienced he got. And it seemed other females had started to see just what she had always seen in him.

Hinata turned his gaze over to Sakura, Naruto's longtime crush and best friend. While, over the years, she had looked at the pink haired medic with relative feelings of jealousy and disdain. Ater all, Naruto had shown so much interest in her, like se brushed him off like a n annoying bug. Hinata had never really liked her because of this; however, she now realized that she had never even gotten to know her. She was important to Naruto, no matter what, and she definetely cared deeply for him had taught the Shinobi World to let go of the past and break the cycle of hate; it was only fitting that she, as his girlfriend, be able to follow his example and make peace with her rival. Just like Naruto had made peace with the Kyuubi.

She shook her head as she saw Sakura chide Naruto for moving too much. They really were close, as close as she was to Kiba and even closer- while Kiba and Shino were like her brothers, Hinata knew Sakura's feelings for Naruto were far more than that. And, as much as Naruto denied it, Hinata could see traces of his old crush on her in how he looked at her. But she knew he wouldn't break his word to her like that. He _couldn't_.

Her heart couldn't take it if she lost him now.

"Okay, I think that's good enough," Sakura nodded to herself, standing up from Naruto's lying body and distracting Hinata from her thoughts. "Can you walk?"

Naruto pushed himself up and stood on his own two feet with relative ease, earning a relieved sigh from both Hinata and Sakura. "Piece of cake," he grinned at them, causing them both to roll their eyes lovingly.

"Now then, before we waste any more time, I believe we have a mission to complete," Sakura said. Hinata and Naruto nodded at her, and within seconds they had vanished once more into the treetops.

* * *

To say things were going poorly for Neji would be an understatement.

Now, Neji had had some positive aspects recently as well. He had managed to do the impossible and become clan head, finally proving that fate was not predestined. But then, he found his precious cousin in a boy's bed! As if that weren't enough, after he attempted to bring justice to Hinata's defiler, he was stripped of his role as clan heir! And now...

He shuddered to ever think about what he as currently going through.

"I'm sure it'll all pass, Neji!" his teammate, Tenten, tried to comfort him. However, she wasn't too sure of it herself, and she didn't fool Neji either, as evidenced by the glare he gave her.

"I don't want to talk about it," Neji said simply, turning his gaze back toward the road. Sighing, Tenten continued walking down with him, and the two of them walked silently down the road together. Unfortuantly, this only served to make Neji all the more aware of the stares and hushed whispers aimed at him. He gritted his teeth.

_'How the hell am I going to get out of this mess?'_ Neji grumbled to himself, steam almost rising through his ears as he and Tenten continued to make their way to the Hokage tower. _'This has just all been one nightmare...'_

Seeing her squad mate so angry and humiliated, Tenten sighed in sympathy. Despite herself, however, she could not help herself as she looked at his furious face. _'He's so cute when he's angry,'_ she thought dreamily, trying to stifle a girlish giggle as she stared at his pouting features.

Unfortunately for her, Neji heard her despite her attempts to conceal that sound. Confused at her uncharacteristic behavior, he raised his eyebrow at her. "Is something wrong, Tenten-san?"

Fighting back a fierce blush, Tenten waved the situation aside. "Oh, no, nothing," she insisted. Neji obviously didn't quite believe her, but pushed those thoughts aside as he delved into the misery of his current situation. Tenten sighed.

_'Oh, Neji, you're so clueless...'_ she thought bitterly.

* * *

"You know, that might not have been the best plan," a gruff man chuckled as he watched his female partner pace across the forest floor.

"Shut up, you big dummy!" Yohasha snapped at him, never stopping her pacing as she tried to think of a new solution.

Ichigo just chuckled. "Well, baby, we could just run again, as we always do." However, he froze in fear when he saw her icy stare.

"The Golden Fox has the largest bounty in the world on his head," she said, trying to maintain her anger in front of the man she loved. "And his two sluts have very high bounties on them, too. We can't afford to miss this opportunity."

Ichigo sighed in defeat, knowing full well that when his lover got like this, there was no convincing her otherwise. "Okay, then. What's our next move?"

Yohasha took a moment to breath. Not wanting to snap at him like that again. "Do you have any ideas?"

Ichigo thought for a moment, before snapping his fingers in realization. "Of course! I've got an awesome idea!"

Yohasha sighed. "I just can't wait to hear it..."

* * *

The three ninjas continued silently through the forest, intently following their pale eyed tracker through the treetops as they searched for their target. But it wasn't just the mission anymore; now, there was another desire in their hearts: Revenge. The target had invaded one of their bodies and nearly killed both her and another one of them, someone very important to both of his squad mates and the village, as well as throughout the entire world. Thoughts of honor or the shinobi code were beyond them now. Now, they only wanted vengeance.

Well, two of them did.

Naruto turned his gaze toward his two squad mates, shaking his head sadly as he saw the utter hatred in their eyes. He had hoped that, in the Fourth Great Ninja War, he had managed to cure the world of the cycle of hatred and revenge. But reality wasn't that simple. Perhaps Kurama was right after all: Hatred was an intricate part of humanity, and the desire for vengeance could not be ridden of so easily. Still, Naruto had promised Kurama, as well as his old Sensei Jiraiya, that he would do everything in his power to free the world from the chains of hatred. And he would not let hatred cloud his sight. Not even for people who had tried to kill him and Sakura. He would do what was necessary to protect the people he loved, but would not act rashly like the hyperactive ninja he had so often be called. He had to move on, pat the cycle of hatred.

Suddenly, his girlfriend stopped, bringing him out of his internal monologue. Taking a look around, he almost immediately saw what had caused Hinata to bring them to a halt: Another hidden paper bomb.

_'Don't want to touch that again,' _Naruto sweat dropped, mentally feeling the memory of the pain the last paper bomb dealt on him, unintentionally shivering at the memory of it.

Meanwhile, Sakura looked around the area, trying to pick up any unnatural sights or sounds. Suddenly, a creaky leaf! With lightning speed, she threw a kunai.

Her sudden action surprised both Naruto and Hinata, who turned to where Sakura had thrown the kunai, only to see a big, hulking man in a black coat with a sword strapped to his belt and a crossed out Konoha head protector twirling her kunai around on his finger.

"Well, looks like you didn't fall for the same trap twice. I must say, I'm surprised," he chuckled. "However," he dropped the kunai, "I do believe we should get down to business."

Naruto stepped out in front. "Ichigo Manyuka," he declared, his goofy tone having given way to that of a leader. "Seven years ago, reports say you abandoned your mission and killed your squad mates, including your wife. However, we have reason to believe that your other squad mate is still alive. And if so," he gritted his teeth, clenching his fist in anger as he tried to control his temper. "Why would the two of you escape like that? Why would you kill your wife?"

Ichigo's mouth soon twisted into a big, dumb grin. "Yohasha Yamanaka is my angel," he declared, a fierce devotion evident in his voice. "And _no one_ is going to take me away from her!"

He began amassing chakra, an amount impressive enough to the three Konoha shinobi even after everything they had seen. Pulling out his sword from its sheath, he focused the chakra into the blade. With a hideous roar, he unleashed the chakra from it directly at Naruto. "BANZAI!"


	23. Chapter 23

"Banzai!" Ichigo shouted as he shot a blast of solid chakra from his sword.

"Look out!" Naruto shouted as he jumped out of the way with his two squad mates, narrowly missing the attack as he jumped down to the forest floor.

"I will kill you!" Ichigo shouted as he slashed his sword wildly in the air, sending shockwaves throughout the forest and slicing down trees.

"This guys crazy," Naruto remarked obviously, and the two girls silently agreed.

Regardless, they all knew what to do. With remarkable speed, they all vanished from sight, leaving Ichigo clueless.

"Grr... Where did they go?" he snarled, recklessly slicing through the air in an attempt to hit someone. However, all he managed to do was slice through the trees, causing them to fall. He narrowly jumped out of the way of a falling tree branch that was heading toward him.

"Damn it..." He muttered. "Can't believe I've lost sight of them... She's going to be so pissed..." He was so caught up in his internal monologue, he didn't even notice what was coming up behind him.

"Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!" he heard all of a sudden. Shocked, he barely had time to turn around before he found himself caught in the Hyuga family high level jutsu. Caught by surprise, he barely had any time to register each jab the lavender haired girl gave him as he felt his chakra literally stop flowing. As the attack ended, he felt himself unable to stand anymore and fell backward, down onto the ground below.

"Grr..." he grunted, as he struggled in vain to move his hands. "Forgive me... Yohasha... my love..."

In a flash, three ninja stood above him, staring down at him with mixed feelings of anger and pity. The lone male of their group clenched his fists.

"So. You really did it," he stated, not in an accusing or surprised manner. He just stared blankly at him. "You really killed your wife."

Ichigo grinned, a deranged grin that would have scared to death anyone who hadn't seen half of the things his audience had seen. "That bitch had it coming," he chuckled darkly, despite it hurting due to Hinata's attack.

Naruto simply closed his eyes, not lashing out at him despite how much he wanted to. He had overcome hatred. He had vowed to never hate again.

Hinata, however, wasn't so reserved.

"You bastard," Hinata spat out, surprising both Naruto and Sakura. "How could you do something like that to the person you promised to spend your whole life together with?"

"I did not need her," the enemy ninja stated, without a tinge of regret or uncertainty in his voice. "Yohasha is my light. she is all I need."

Naruto and Hinata simply glared at him, a fierce look on contempt on their faces. However, Sakura was less certain. She frowned at him, trying to piece it all together.

'_It doesn't seem right, somehow,'_ she thought. '_It's almost like... could it be?'_

Wishing to prove her hypothesis, she walked up to the still unmoving Ichigo, kneeling before him. His eyes darted to her in confusion, but she ignored them, opting instead to close her eyes and try to remember what Ino had told her about the Yamanaka clan's signature jutsu. Holding her hands out over him, she dived deep into his psyche, ignoring her squad mates' inquisitive stares.

Sakura took a look around the mindscape as she entered it. She had only dived into a person's mindscape a few times before, when Ino was attempting t teach her her clan's jutsu and widen her arsenal, so she wasn't as skilled in the jutsu as Ino or her father. Still, she didn't need much experience to see what was going on here.

She floated on over to a complicated seal hovering over Ichigo's brain, examining its intricate seals with an analytical mind. Cautiously, she made a few hand signs, and concentrated on the seal.

When she opened her eyes, she saw herself in the streets of Konoha. She felt her gaze turn to a group of teenagers around 15 or 16 clad in chuunin gear a short distance away.

"Aw, come on, Yohasha-chan!" a boy with reddish hair pleaded to a blonde haired girl. Yohasha simply rolled her eyes.

"Oh, _please_, Ichigo," she all but spat out. "Like I'd ever go on a date with you."

"But, if you'd just give me a chance-" Ichigo pleaded, only for the girl to turn around and slap him in the face. The girl in the background winced.

"Leave me alone, you baka!" Yohasha snapped at him, causing him to flinch. "I don't want anything to do with you!" With that, she huffed and walked down the street.

Ichigo sighed, dropping to the ground dramatically. The other girl hesitantly approached.

"Um, Ichigo..." she muttered, blushing when Ichigo turned to her.

"Hm? Oh, hey, Minoko," he greeted her, an oblivious look on his face as he stared at the girl. "Is something up? I'm not really in the mood any right now."

The girl Sakura now knew as Minoko flinched. "I'm sorry!" she defended, putting her hands up.

Ichigo frowned, realizing he might have hurt the girls feelings. "I'm sorry, Minoko, I've just been having a really bad day."

"I know," Minoko nodded with a tinge of sadness. "I just... I wanted to tell you..."

"Hm?" Ichigo asked her, turning his head to the side

"I just..." Minoko blushed, turning her head to the side. "Things will work out!"

With that, she rushed away in a hurry, leaving Ichigo staring at her retreating like she was a freak.

"What a weirdo," he muttered to himself.

In the blink of an eye, Sakura found herself no longer on that street, but rather in Konoha park under a bright moon shining down on a lone figure sitting on a bench.

Sakura recognized this as Ichigo not too long after she last saw him, despite the dark night and the tears running down his face.

"Ichigo?" they heard coming from a short distance away, and both him and Sakura turned to see Minoko walking over to him. "Are you ok?"

"Hm? Oh yeah, sure!" Ichigo chuckled, rubbing his eyes in a fruitless attempt to hide the tears. Minoko was not convinced.

"Ichigo-kun..." she whispered, causing him to look at her with shocked eyes at her use of an honorific. "I heard about Yohasha and Riku."

Ichigo sniffed, before giving her a forced smile. "Oh, that?" he said, chuckling darkly to himself. "What about it?"

Minoko paused for a moment, as if to try and gather her thoughts. Finally, she spoke. "I know how you feel about her, and how you must feel since she chose Riku over you."

Ichigo chuckled humorlessly. "You have an odd way of trying to cheer someone up, Minoko."

The girl looked down momentarily, before steeling her gaze and looking at the boy with a renewed sense of determination. "I just wanted to let you know... that there's always someone who cares..."

Ichigo turned to the blushing girl with a wide eyed expression. However, Sakura did not know what happened next, as she saw the scene before her fade before her eyes.

Instead, she now saw a slightly older Ichigo and Minoko, now in their early 20s, dressed up in their finest kimonos before a large crowd and the Third Hokage. They kissed before the image faded again.

Minoko was resting her head on Ichigo's shoulder as they walked down the street, blissful and content smiles on both of their faces, their love radiating upon everyone in the area. However, not everyone was as happy. A short distance away, Yohasha Yamanaka was glaring at the pair with a look of scorn in her eyes. Finally, she could take it no longer, and walked up to the pair.

Ichigo closed his eyes and exhaled as he saw his old crush approach, before greeting her. "Hey, Yohasha!" he called, causing his wife to lift her head and stare at her former rival.

"Cut the crap, Ichigo," Yohasha snapped at him, not even acknowledging the other woman's existence. "The Hokage has ordered us to report to him for a mission."

Without even waiting for a reply, Yohasha turned away and left in a hurry. Ichigo sighed.

"Don't worry, Ichigo-kun," his wife gently patted his shoulder. "I'm sure she'll come around. She just... had a bad experience with Riku, and sees your old crush on her as a missed opportunity for happiness. I'm sure she'll move on."

Ichigo smiled at his wife and thanked her, before they began leaving for the Hokage's office. However, Sakura could not help but feel the sting of those words...

They were then jumping through the treetops in a birds eye formation, with Ichigo in the lead. Both Yohasha and Minoko were making a pointed effort to not look each other in the eye. Ichigo simply sighed.

Finally, Ichigo put his hand up, signaling his two squad mates to stop. They did so, and jumped down to the ground.

"The chakra signature ends about here..." Minoko confirmed as she concentrated hard to sense the surrounding chakra. "... but I can not get an exact location." Ichigo nodded.

"That's alright. Split up, and try to find the body."

They all nodded, before vanishing. Sakura found herself with Ichigo as he scouted a forest clearing.

"Still nothing..." he muttered silently to himself. A bristling in the tree leaves alerted him, however, and he turned to face the intrusion.

However, he visibly relaxed when he saw it was Yohasha- but only just barely. "What's up, Yohasha?" he asked her.

Yohasha was unusually quiet and bashful, not looking him directly in the eye. Ichigo tilted his head curiously. "Yohasha...?"

"I love you, Ichigo-kun."

Ichigo simply blinked in confusion. "Huh...?"

"I love you, Ichigo-kun," she repeated, stepping forward.

Ichigo stared down, biting his lip. "I'm sorry, Yohasha," he said, not even able to look her in the eye. "I know I love-"

"And I know what a bitch I was to you in the past," Yohasha continued, walking on over to him all the while. "I know I may have turned you off away from me, but I know, deep down, you truly still love me."

"Yohasha... I'm sorry... I don't-"

"And you always will," she finished as she held her hands in a triangle shape toward him.

With that, Sakura felt immense pain as she felt the seal being formed in Ichigo's mind, and was forced to leave.

As she broke her hold on Ichigo's mind, she felt herself falling backward as she regained her footing. Luckily for her, Naruto caught her.

"Sakura-chan!" he shouted as he helped her up, thankfully not noticing the blush she struggled to hide. "What happened?"

"Yohasha placed him under some sort of genjutsu," she said as she dusted herself off. "He's not been in full control of his actions."

"So... he's been controlled?!" Naruto screamed, tightening his fist more. "That... Yohasha or whatever, she was the one who killed his wife?"

Sakura nodded. "Which means, our first priority should be to undo the genjutsu. I noticed a seal inside his mind, but I don't think I was able to remove it."

"Urgh..." a grunt came from below them, and they saw Ichigo begin to stir. "Where... am I...?"

"...Or I managed to undo it myself," Sakura sweatdropped. '_Guess I'm better at this than I thought.'_

Both Naruto and Hinata kneeled down to tend to the very accused man, but Sakura could not bring herself to. Her mind was too clouded with the memories she had absorbed from Ichigo's mind. Of Yohasha. Of her.

'_I'd never do anything like that to Naruto-kun or Hinata-chan... Would I?'_ she wondered silently as she pondered the similarities. However, her train of thought was broken by a hideous screech.

"NO!" a woman yeleld, before jumping down to the forest floor, steam almost visibly rising from her ears. "I won't let you take Ichigo-kun away from me!"


	24. Chapter 24

The three Konoha shinobi formed a protective circle around Ichigo as they stared at the fuming new arrival. Their hands instinctively grabbed their kunai, read to pull them out at a moments notice.

"Give my Ichigo-kun back to me!" she hissed with a maniacal glimmer to her eyes, before rushing in at the three ninjas separating her from her precious. Now knowing Ichigo to be one of them, Naruto, Hinata and Sakura instinctively threw their kunai at the now revealed traitor.

Yohasha dodged the kunai, pulling out her own kunai in the process and aiming it straight at Hinata. However, her form was sloppy, and Hinata easily grabbed it in midair.

As Yohasha reached the three, she found herself rushing straight at Naruto. Gathering up her chakra in her fist, she launched a punch at tht blonde ninja. However, Naruto was too quick for her, grabbing her fist and knocking her backward.

Yohasha picked herself up, and then glared daggers at Naruto. "Demon scum!" she hissed, staring with pure hatred at him. "Give me back my Ichigo-kun!"

Naruto had to hold himself, the pain of those words bringing back unwanted feelings from the horrible days of his youth. He did not want to give in to his basest desire to kill that bitch. He _couldn't_.

"Take that back!" Sakura, of all people retorted, her face contorting in rage at the slight on Naruto.

Yohasha turned her snarling face to Sakura. "Oh, you're one of those demon lovers? I've heard you've infested Konoha since I left. Disgusting. And now, not even will you let this... this _thing _idly run around your village, but you'll stand by him while he stands between me and my true love?!"

Sakura's fist clenched even tighter, if that were possible.

"HE." Sakura began charging chakra in her fist.

"IS NOT." She began pushing her fist back.

"YOUR." Her fist was on a collision course with Yohasha's face.

"TRUE LOVE!" Her fist fully connected with Yohasha, sending her flying backward into a tree.

Naruto and Hinata gawked at the furious sakura. They both knew her temper rivaled that of her sensei's, but this seemed unusual, even for her.

"Sakura-chan...?" Naruto said in shock, but it fell on deaf ears.

"You think you can just take whatever you want?" Sakura snapped, walking on over to the bruised and defeated Yohasha. "You think you can just disregard his feelings, treat him like a _possession_, and then feel the need to call _MY _friend a demon?"

Naruto involuntarily shivered. He knew how hard Sakura could punch when she was like this.

Yohasha tried to crawl backward, feeling the overflowing hatred coming from the pink haired girl. She soon could no longer crawl backward, though, as she hit a tree. She gulped.

"You rotten, no good bitch." With that, Sakura launched a punch at the trembling woman. And another. And another. But for a second, she did not see the blonde Yamanaka, but rather a mirror reflection of her own face.

She made sure the next punch hurt even more.

* * *

"Geez, Sakura-chan. Think you could have loosened up a bit?" Naruto joked, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head.

Sakura, however, simply stared off into space, lost in her own thoughts as she thought about Ichigo, Minoko and Yohasha... and more importantly, Naruto, Hinata and herself.

'_But I'd never do something like that!' _she tried to reason with herself. '_But... I just... Did I ever really love him to begin with? Or is this just another childish fantasy...'_

She sighed and closed her eyes in depression, confusing Naruto. "Um, Sakura-chan..." he

said, trying to grab her attention.

Hearing the voice of her crush, Sakura turned to him. "Hm?" she asked, trying to reather her thoughts. She was brought back fully to reality when she heard another male voice.

"Ugh... What... happened?"

As soon as they heard Ichigo's voice, Naruto and Sakura ran to join Hinata by his side. Kneeling down, Sakura began applying medical ninjutsu to one of his wounds.

"Who... are you...?" Ichigo whispered, his voice barely audible.

"Just stay calm, I'm applying medical jutsu and we'll get you all patched up," Sakura comforted the confused man.

Ichigo obviously did not truly know if she was to be trusted or not, so he instead turned his gaze over to the beaten body near him. "Yohasha...? What... happened... to her?"

Sakura and Hinata shared a look. "Looks like we've got to get up im to speed," Sakura realized. Hinata nodded in agreement.

* * *

"I... can't believe it"

The three ninjas stood silently, giving Ichigo some space as he came to grips with everything he had just learned: that his wife was dead, that he possibly killed her that he had spent the past seven years as a love slave to a woman he thought was his friend... and that wasn't even counting the word events such as the Uchiha Clan Massacre, the Akatsuki, the Fourth Great Ninja War, and the fact that the town pariah and demon child was now a hero beloved by the village. Naruto knew how much more troubling this last bit of information might be to someone who hadn't seen him the past seven years, so he made sure to give the man some distance.

However, Ichigo was too distraught over his personal problems to worry about him. "Did- Did I... actually do it myself..."

"I didn't see," Sakura admitted as she looked downcast. She knew how hard this must be for him. "But remember, it was Yohasha who was in control, not you."

Ichigo took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. "But... why would she do this?"

Hinata smiled sadly. "Women do stupid things when they're in love."

"Or at least think they are," Sakura finished, causing Hinata to look at her with shock.

"But... how could that be considered love..." Ichigo whispered through a cracking voice, tears beginning to form in his eyes. Tears for his lost seven years. Tears for his love, whom might have died by his own hands as far as he knew..

Sakura sighed. "I just don't know," she admitted, staring off into the distance.

Naruto sighed. He didn't want to be the bad guy, but he was the team leader, and this therapy session wasn't the best thing for a group of ninjas to do. "I'm sorry about all this, and I don't want to seem uncaring," Naruto said, drawing everyone's attention to himself. "But I think we should best be on our way. We need to get you to the medical and intel teams back in Konoha so they can make sure you're good to go."

Sakura and Hinata both looked at Naruto, and after finding it to make sense, they nodded in agreement. Ichigo was a bit slower to agree to the suggestion made by the boy he remembered fearing, but soon agreed. Naruto slung the criminals body over his shoulder, and the group was on its way back home.

* * *

"I see..." Tsunade said, folding her hands together and closing her eyes in thought as she processed this new information the group of four ninjas had told her. After thinking it over, she reopened her eyes and stared at the man who was the target for this mission."Thank you all for this. Ichigo, I'm afraid I'll need you to have to escort you to the intel unit. Not that I don't trust in my student's abilities, but I just need to make sure you're all right."

"Of course, Hokage-sama," Ichigo bowed respectfully. The two Anbu behind him signaled for him to follow them, and they left the room, leaving Tsunade alone with the three ninja.

"I would like to congratulate you all on a mission completed. Even though the mission changed, you were able to successfully adapt and make the right decision. I'm proud of you all. Dismissed."

The three ninjas thanked Tsunade in their own ways. As they were leaving the room, however Tsunade called out to them. "Oh, and Naruto: Try to be more discrete with her. Last thing we need is for you to showcase yourself to the entire village again."

Both Hinata and Naruto blushed bright red at the Hokage's playful jab, but Hinata soon looked at Sakura. The playful jab seemed to have stung her in ways the Hokage did not intend, but Sakura did a good job hiding it.

"Excuse me," Sakura nodded to the couple, and left in a hurry.

Naruto frowned, remembering just how hard Sakura took whatever she saw in Ichigo's mind. It looked like she had taken it harder than just seeing a person's dark past. And then he remembered when Yohasha tricked him with her bloody body, the hatred he felt, the overwhelming protectiveness that exceeded what he might ahve felt for his friends. And then he remembered her body, lithe and atheltic, not as developed as Hinata but with a cute allure to her. As much as he did not want to admit it, he could not help but start to see her in the light he used to see her in once again...

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata whispered, bringing Naruto back to the land of the living. He blushed bright red, ashamed at where his thoughts were taking him. _God damn it, I can't do that to Hinata-chan!'_ he mentally screamed at himself. Back in reality, he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Um, it's nothing," he chuckled nervously. Just then, he remembered something, the perfect thing to change the subject to. "Hey, we should go check on Neji! Last we saw him, we... well, we weren't in the best of positions."

Hinata blushed bright red as she remembered just what Naruto was talking about. If she was to be perfectly honest with herself, she wanted to do that again... but she knew that she would have to wait. "Alright," she smiled, before grabbing her boyfriends arm and nuzzling into it. Naruto smiled, and lead the way out of the office.

The two lovebirds had managed to forget they were in the same room as Tsunade, but she didn't really mind the reprieve from her boring paperwork. Shaking her head, she smiled at the doorway Naruto and Hinata had just walked through.

"Way to go, Naruto-kun. You've earned her," she smiled, a pure happiness radiating from her.

Sakura walked through the streets of Konoha, so lost in thought that she barely even noticed the people walking around her.

'_I don't want to be like Yohasha, so wrapped up in a lost love,'_ she thought to herself, '_Or hell, even like my infatuation with Sasuke not too long ago... I don't want to repeat that. And I don't want to become her.' Maybe it's time to move on... No. I NEED to move on_

Steadying herself with a newfound determination, she decided on her destination, and made her way there as swiftly as she could.

He was training, of course. Sakura almost felt sick at seeing the speed in which he did his warm-up sit-ups. Then again, she supposed she should not have expected otherwise. As she approached him, she took a deep breath. "Lee?"

Rock Lee stopped his exercise and looked at his new visitor. "Ah, Sakura-chan!" he called, getting up and running to her with a grin on his face. "How delightful it is to see you! You must have just gotten back from your mission?"

Sakura smiled at him, a bit of nervousness showing but she tried not to make it too noticeable. "Hey, Lee. Yeah, a few minutes ago."

"And you came to see me this quickly? To what might I owe this honor?" Lee exclaimed, with stars in his eyes. "I say, to be graced with a beautiful maiden such as yourself..."

Sakura blushed a bit, still unused to being flattered so. Although, Naruto and Lee did compliment her quite often, but she never really paid them much attention... Perhaps, now she was more willing to pay them mind...

"Well," Sakura said, trying to figure out just what to say. "Well..." she fluttered her eyelashes a bit. "I would like to accept your offer for a date."


	25. Chapter 25

"Say _WHAT_?"

"Would you let go of me? You think I'm happy about it?"

"Yeah, but- it's your fault!"

Even still, he reluctantly let go of Neji, before tossing his hands in the air exasperatedly. His girlfriend placed a comforting hand on his shoulder as she frowned. She wasn't too happy with this situation, either.

"I realize I may have acted rashly," Neji said through gritted teeth. "However, I do think you should calm down..."

"I should be the one to calm down? You're the one who overreacted!"

"Well what you expect me to do when I catch you defiling my beloved cousin!"

"Try to kill me? Oh, that's really appropriate, jackass."

"Don't you call me names, or I'll make you sure you're never able to deprive my dear cousin of her purity ever again!"

"Guys..."

"Oh, so you want to use Gentle Fist on my dick, is that it? You really _are _gay!"

"Guys!"

"Oh, you wouldn't dare! You will rue the day you insulted the Hyuga clan!"

"Bring it, you cold freak!"

"Oh, that's it! EIGHT TRIGRAMS, SIXTY-FOUR-"

"STOP IT!"

The two teenage boys found that the most important girl in both of their lives had stepped in between the two of them while they were going at each others throats. They both turned their gaze to one another, and realized what they were doing. Quickly, they let go of each others throats and backed away from each other.

"I... apologize," Neji said as cordially as he could. "I've just been under some real stress lately, you see."

"Yeah, I kind of just overreacted myself, heheh," Naruto chuckled, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "Still, how could something like this happen?"

"Well, at least with you it isn't nearly as bad, since you have a girlfriend and everyone's saying you were the victim. People are saying I was trying to... to... I can't even say it, it disgusts me so!"

Neji and Naruto both shuddered as they thought about the rumors circulating between them. Hinata simply sighed and shook her head. '_Oh, brother...'_

Naruto shook his head. "I can't believe this!" he exclaimed gripping his hair tightly in frustration. Neji frowned at the display, and went forward to bow respectfully.

"I apologize, Naruto-sama, for all the trouble I have caused you."

Naruto blinked, shocked at his friends drastic turn. "Um, alright, no problem. But drop the "sama" crap, all right? It weirds me out."

Neji straightened up, an a smirk beginning to form on his lips. "Of course, Naruto-kun," he said sincerely, causing Naruto to blink at his use of the honorific. "But I do apologize for my hasty reaction. I should have realized you are perfect for her, and that you would never hurt Hinata-chan."

Both Hinata and Naruto blinked, confused and shocked at Neji's uncharacteristic familiarity. "Thank you, Neji-sama," they both said at the same time, before turning to each other. Realizing what they just did, they started giggling like little kids. "It's like we're an old married couple!" Naruto laughed, unknowingly causing Hinata to stop laughing and turn beet red at the implication. Naruto, however, remained as oblivious as ever, and simply continued laughing."

"Yes, very amusing, I'm sure," Neji rolled his eyes. "Now, then, about that little problem, Naruto-sama..."

"I told you to stop calling me that!"

* * *

Sakura smiled uncertainly at her reflection, turning around so she could get a full glimpse of herself in the mirror. She was wearing a nice, pink dress, nothing too garnish or fancy. Plain and simple, fitting for a first date.

'_My first date.'_ For years, she had longed and yearned for her first date. For years, she had fantasized about it being with her lifelong crush, Sasuke Uchiha. Over time, that dream had gradually been replaced with thoughts of a certain blonde knucklehead she hadn't paid too much attention to, beyond insulting and degrading him. But by the time she realized what it was she truly wanted, it was too late.

And now, here she was: about to go on a date with Rock Lee. If she were to be quite honest with herself, she felt bad about toying with his feelings, that she was just using his feelings for her to try and move on. However, it was a fact that she wanted to move on, that she needed to move on. Rock Lee would understand if she didn't find him the right man. '_I hope...'_

Just then, she heard a knock on the door. With a steadying breath, she went to greet him.

* * *

Thankfully, Lee had foregone his trademark green jumpsuit. He desperately wanted to make a good impression, so he did his best to dress nice and normal for his big date, which Sakura was very thankful for.

The two walked side by side down the street of Konoha without touching one another, Lee not wishing to move things too fast for Sakura and Sakura not really wanting to do anything until she was sure she was over Naruto. So the walk to their date's location was awkward, neither knowing quite what to say (Lee did not want to spoil anything by talking about youth or anything that might scare Sakura off).

Finally, the pair reached their destination, and Sakura could not help but gawk at the extravagance. '_Lee paid for this?' _she thought with awe.

"Sit down, my sweet!" Lee called to her, pulling out her chair for her. She graciously accepted, thanking him as she did so. The two friends sat across from one another, neither looking each other in the eyes, neither knowing quite what to say.

Their waiter arrived, and after ordering their meals, they were once again sitting in an awkward silence. Lee decided to try and break it.

"So... I'm really glad you decided to accept my proposal," he said, mentally smacking himself on the head.

"N-no problem, Lee. Least I can do for a friend, right?" Sakura chuckled, groaning internally herself.

Lee frowned as he heard the word "friend", but soon picked himself back up. "Why, certainly. So, you just came back from a mission? What was it like?"

Sakura frowned as she remembered the mission, and the reason she had asked Lee out on this date. "Yeah, though it didn't turn out quite how we expected."

Lee grinned at her. "But I assume you were able to handle the change in the mission parameters with great gusto, correct?"

Sakura couldn't help but let out a little giggle. "Yeah, I guess so." She was quiet for a moment. "This is such a nice restaurant. How were you able to afford it?"

Lee simply shrugged, a light blush on his face. "Really, it's not that expensive on a chuunin's salary."

The two continued to sit awkwardly in silence, waiting for their meal to arrive.

* * *

The remainder of their meal was nice, albeit quiet. Afterward, he walked her back home to her apartment, not trying to make any sort of move on her. Lee was a perfect gentleman, knowing full well how to "tone down" himself, and Sakura had a nice time.

She just... didn't _feel _anything.

Lee was nice- really, he was. But no matter how much he tried, or how much she wanted to, she just couldn't get that blonde baka out of her head. She sighed.

"So, I had a really great time tonight," Lee said, smiling at his date. Sakura returned a feeble smile.

"Listen, Lee..." she began to say, ready to tell him she wasn't interested. However, she could almost feel Lee's heart sinking, along with with plainly being able to see his smile disintegrate. She couldn't do this to him. Not yet. She sighed. "Shall we say, this Friday at 8 o'clock, you pick me up?"

Lee immediately perked up. "Sounds great!" he grinned, giving her the thumbs up. "I'll see you later, Sakura-chan!"

"Good night, Lee," Sakura waved goodbye, and Lee ran off the happiest ninja in the village.

Sakura smiled weakly at him as he left, and went into her apartment with a heavy heart.

* * *

"Honestly, I think you two are overreacting a bit," Hinata sighed, shaking her head at her boyfriend and cousin's antics.

"You don't understand! You're not the one with your manhood in question!" Naruto pleaded, before dropping his head in despair.

"Honestly, you're not really in trouble here. I'm the one whom everyone is saying was trying to... er... take advantage of you," Neji managed to say, keeping as much vomit down as he could.

"But it's still horrible!" Naruto whined and crossed his arms tightly, as if he were a little child.

Hinata shook her head. "Honestly, it's just a rumor. No one is actually taking it serious-"

"So, any bright ideas, Mr. Genius?" Naruto asked Neji, ignoring his girlfriend's interjection. Hinata simply sighed, and stared out the window.

Neji thought for a moment, rubbing his chin. "Well, for you, all you need to do is stick with Hinata," Neji concluded. "That, along with your status in the village, should be more than enough to dispel these ugly rumors surrounding you."

Naruto thought about this for a moment, nodding his head in agreement. "But what about you?" he asked his friend, worry on his face.

Neji visibly shrugged his shoulders in defeat. "That... I do not know."

Naruto thought about this for a moment, trying to think of a solution. Finally, he got one! "You just need a girlfriend!" he exclaimed suddenly.

"Wh-what?!" Neji shouted, blushing beet red at the suggestion. "D-don't be preposterous!"

"What Why?" Naruto said confusedly, before an idea came to him and he smirked mischievously. "Oh, don't tell me, you actually were trying to get a piece of the action?"

Neji blushed redder, if that were possible. "N-n-no!" he stuttered, a high pitch whine to his voice. "I just... don't have anyone in mind, that's all. And I will not court a girl with false intentions!"

"Oh?" Naruto raised his eyebrow. "What about Tenten?"

"T-tenten is a loyal friend, and a remarkable comrade, and that is all." Neji said, averting his eyes from his interrogative friend, his cousin watching with a mix of disbelief and fascination.

"Oh really? From everything I've seen, it seems like she wants more than that..." Naruto chuckled, taking great delight in the ever increasing redness of his friend's face.

"D-don't be... absurd..." Neji lost his train of thought as he remembered what his uncle had told him.

_"Are you saying that you haven't done anything with that girl on your squad? Tenten, was it?"_

His face lost all color at the thought. '_Why is everyone trying to hook me up with Tenten?'_

Naruto saw his friend looking as pale as a ghost, and immediately stopped smirking and looked at him worriedly. "Neji? Are you alright?"

"F-f-fine!" Neji sputtered finally, getting up. "I'll ask Tenten for a date, are you happy?"

Without another word, Neji stormed out of the room. However, judging by the brief glimpse of a smile Naruto saw on his face, he could tell Neji was the happiest out of all of them by this turn of events.

Now that Neji was gone, Naruto turned to his girlfriend, who was lovingly rolling her eyes at the ceiling. "Um, oh hey there, Hinata-chan! Heheh." Nervous at her reaction for him having ignored her, he rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, seems like you finally got Neji to be a man," Hinata commented dryly.

For a brief moment, the room was silent. Then, as Naruto understood fully what his girlfriend had said, he started giggling. hinata soon followed, and the two began laughing uncontrollably. Hinata was laughing so hard that she tripped, but luckily Naruto was there to grab her.

She looked up at the smirking boy holding her up, and blushed lightly at the determination in his eyes. "What say we celebrate a successful mission?"

Hinata simply rested her chin in the valley of his chest, smiling into the embrace. "Do you really need to ask?"


	26. Chapter 26

Naruto and Hinata left the Hyuga compound as quickly and as quietly as they could, and started to make their way over to Naruto's apartment hand in hand. They giggled like little kids doing something really bad, racing their way over as quickly as they could.

As they reached his apartment building, Naruto scooped Hinata up in his arms, to her supreme delight, and began to race his way over to his door. With a tremendous kick, the door flew open, not that either of the two lovers paid it enough attention to actually close it.

Hinata was cradled in her boyfriend's arms, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck and pulling him in for an intense and passionate kiss. Naruto was only too eager to oblige, and tried to maneuver his way to the bed while his sight was clouded by the beautiful girl in front of him.

Unfortunately, he tripped as he was approaching the bed, but luckily he fell straight onto it, bringing the girl still attached to his face tumbling down with him. Without missing a stride, they continued fervently making out, their wandering hands traveling up and down each other's bodies.

Naruto's hands soon found their way to Hinata's ass, as she let out a pleased hum at the welcome interaction. Her hands gripped his hair tightly, pulling him closer and closer to her as her tongue waged war with his own.

His wandering hands rubbed Hinata's lower cheeks for a while, but he knew it was time to take things up a notch. Without breaking the kiss, he brought his hands up to the hem of her pants and began tugging them down.

Hinata gladly wiggled her body to help Naruto get her pants off, and soon the pants were tossed aside, leaving her lower body covered only in a purple thong. Naruto played with the string of the thong, and gave his girlfriend's ass a light smack, to her thorough delight.

Hinata soon found her own hands begin to wander down from his blonde, spiky locks to his jacket. With impatient hands, she began to pull down his zipper in a desperate and frenetic attempt to get him out of that coat. Naruto wiggled out of it to help her out, and the jacket was tossed unceremoniously off of the bed.

Now that Naruto was wearing nothing above his torso, Hinata found herself blushing as her eyes trailed the finely toned muscles of his chest, absorbing every inch of the hard-earned physique her boyfriend had amassed through years and years of ninja training. Her lust for him grew.

Wishing to feel his bare skin against her own once more, Hinata began pulling on her own shirt, trying to get it and the mash jacket off without breaking the kiss. In order to help her, Naruto broke the kiss, earning him a pout, as he quickly took her shirt and mesh jacked off and tossed them both aside.

Hinata quickly ripped off her bra and threw it aside, leaving her clad in only her thong. She leaped on top of Naruto once more, rolling them both around the bed as her lips danced with his, her perky breasts rubbing off onto Naruto's well defined chest as they continued to make out.

Hinata unbuckled Naruto's pants, and then took both them and his underwear off, allowing his manhood to spring forth and smack against her hips. She broke the kiss, and crawled on over to his length.

With a hunger unlike anything she had felt before, her mouth descended upon her boyfriend's length once more, and she began to suck upon it with a ravenous hunger.

"Ah!" Naruto gasped, his head falling back onto his mattress while he enjoyed what Hinata was doing to him. His hand lazily went to rub Hinata's silky hair as she made him feel good. Hinata looked up at him with dreamy eyes, not breaking eye contact as she sucked up and down his length. Hinata had improved since she had first done this back on their mission. And now that she had a taste of it, as impossible as it was for her shy self to admit it, she wanted it. Badly.

Gradually, Hinata managed to make it so that her mouth reached the bottom of the shaft, so that her chin were touching her love's balls. Still, she would not let go, trying to generate as much pleasure for her lover as she could.

And her lover was definitely feeling the pleasure. As Hinata kept bobbing her head up and down his length, he found himself more and more unable to resist his urges. "Oh god! Hinata-chan, I'm cumming!"

Hinata did not slow down, instead choosing to speed up her actions, eager to bring her lover to a joyful climax.

Without delay, Naruto sucumbed to his lover's heavenly actions, unleashing a stream of cum into her willing mouth. Hinata tried to swallow as much of it as she could, but she found it to be too much. She took her mouth off of it, cum dropping from her mouth as she struggled to lick it all up. She swallowed. "That was a lot," she smiled lustfully at her boyfriend.

Naruto smiled back. "But I think I'm almost ready for more..." he said huskily. The sight of his seed dripping from her mouth was quickly bringing back up to his peak performance.

Hinata looked down at his now rigid manhood and smiled. giving her lover a wink, she threw her leg over his length, positioning it at the entrance to her womanhood. Naruto moved his hands to her hips, but she gently pushed them away.

"Let me," she whispered to him. "Just enjoy." With that, she started to lower herself onto his shaft.

She grimaced in pain as his girth began to stretch her cavern walls, and struggled to maintain her balance as she pushed it deeper and deeper. This was a lot ore difficult than she thought it would be, but she did not want to go back on her word.

She slowly inched her way down his length, trying to fit as much of him into her as she could. Naruto simply gasp in pleasure, as the tightness of Hinata's womanhood was one of the greatest feelings he had ever felt. Still, he knew how much Hinata was struggling, and so tried his best to postpone his urge to thrust. Besides, she had told him _she'd_ handle it.

Hinata finally managed to get her boyfriend all of the way into her. As she struggled to prevent herself from wobbling over, she began to slowly move herself up and down, feeling the friction between her and her boyfriend.

Once again, Naruto tried to move his hands to Hinata's hips, but she pushed them aside and gave him a reprimanding look. She began moving faster and faster, and the difficulty of fitting him inside soon gave way to pleasure. She had still trouble keeping her balance, though.

Her head tilted backward, a wide grin on her face as she continued to ride her boyfriend's thick length. Naruto instinctively gripped Hinata's hips and started bucking his hips up, and Hinata was now too wrapped up in pleasure to object.

Hinata was bouncing faster and faster on Naruto's length, struggling to maintain her composure as shockwaves of pleasure raced up her spine. With great effort, she managed to make eye contact with her lover. Smirking deviously at him, she raised her hands to her breasts and began to massage them.

"Do you like- oh!- when I touch my breasts, Naruto-kun?" she said huskily, squeezing her nipples as she did so.

"Oh, fuck yeah, Hinata-chan!" Naruto grunted between thrusts, gasping in pleasure.

The two lovers continued making love for some time, but they soon found their limits approaching. "Oh god, I'm cumming!" Naruto shouted, clenching his teeth.

"Me too! Cum with me, Naruto-kun!" Hinata shouted, before she convulsed in delight. "NARUTO-KUUUUUUUN!"

"HINATA-CHAAAAAAAAAAAAN!" As their orgasms took hold, Hinata found she could no longer balance herself and fell forward onto Naruto's chest. Naruto's hands wrapped around her body, cradling her close to him.

"I love you, Naruto-kun," Hinata whispered, giving his chest a sweet kiss.

"I love you too, my little princess," Naruto smiled, stroking her hair lovingly. Content, they both fell to sleep in each others arms.

Meanwhile, at the entrance of the apartment, a kindly old man shut the door his tenant had forgotten to close, shaking his head from side to side. "Kids," he muttered to himself, a nostalgic look on his face.

* * *

It did not take long for Neji to locate Tenten, what with the Byakugan. However, it took a lot of effort for him to actually work up the nerve to go and see her.

Finally, he managed to make his way to the training field where she was currently training. His forehead was unusually hot as he saw her throw kunais at tree stumps, trying to catch them before they hit. Here forehead was sweaty, a sign that she had been training for quite some time, but Neji found himself feeling things he was not used to. Feelings down below, inappropriate feelings which he would feel were unbefitting of a Hyuga- were it not for his uncles words to him.

Tenten did not see him, and so he took advantage of the opportunity to try and calm his nerves, get get rid of his little problem down below. Not an easy feat when he was seeing a beautiful and deadly girl training like Tenten.

As he regained his posture and determination, Neji breathed to himself. '_You can do this.'_

With that last bit of self encouragement, he stepped out onto the field where Tenten was training. With her still not sensing his presence, he decided to make himself known.

"Er... greetings, Tenten-san, I- AH!" He narrowly dodged a kunai thrown his way, his heart pounding at the unexpected attack.

"Hm? Oh, sorry Neji!" Tenten appeared genuinely sorry and shocked at her unwarranted attack. She rushed to him, trying to make sure she that he was ok.

Neji seemed to brush it aside, however. '_She must have truly been in her training,'_ he mentally lauded her. '_Still, she should probably make sure not to be so trigger happy on the field... No, I must remain focused on my mission.'_

"Never mind about that, Tenten-san," Neji quietly said, solidifying his posture and turning to her respectfully. "I actually came here to talk to you about something."

"Oh?" Tenten said, turning her head curiously. "What's that? Is there a mission or something?"

"Er... no, nothing like that. You see..."

Neji turned uncharacteristically shy, turning his head and blushing in a way that reminded Tenten of his cousin. '_What's up with him?' _she wondered.

"Well, you see, Tenten-san, I was wondering..." His face turned bright red as he struggled to find the correct words.

Tenten could feel her eyes widening and her heart pound. '_Is he really...?'_

"Well, as you can recall, certain... rumors concerning myself and Naruto-san have surfaced recently, and, well, we decided the best way to fix this problem would be if you were to, err, go out on a date with me."

For a moment, there was silence in the training field. Confused, Neji turned an inquisitive eye to Tenten. "Tenten-san...?"

But Tenten was too busy looking down at the ground, a dark shadow on her face as a cold air filled the field. Neji could almost swear he saw steam rising from her ears. "Is that... so?" Tenten finally uttered, and turned eyes filled with hatred at Neji.

"Um... well," Neji stuttered, at a loss for words. Soon he was at a loss of footing as well, as Tenten punched him so hard he fell off his feet and flew toward a nearby tree.

"BAKA!" Tenten shouted, before storming off. Neji sighed in defeat and confusion.

'_Women are scary.'_


	27. Chapter 27

'"Ugh..." Neji grunted to himself as he dragged himself back home to the Hyuga manor after his... rather unusual encounter with his teammate. "I can't believe all of this..."

He took a deep breath and steadied himself against his overwhelming desire to just give up and crawl into a fetal position. '_I am a Hyuga, damn it! And I can't do something so... uncultured!'_

With a depressed sigh, he shook his head, mentally going over the days events in his head.. '_Then again, after asking such a favor of Tenten and explaining my true reasons for doing so... I suppose I am rather uncouth.'_

He hung his head in shame. "Things were going so well for me, too!" he audibly whimpered in a manner very much unlike his usual self. He thought back to a week ago, when he had been the heir apparent to the Hyuga clan! He had bested his fate, and done what he thought was always impossible and out of his grasp due to the circumstances of his birth! But now... He sighed, and kicked the dirt in disgrace.

'_Fate's a bitch.'_

* * *

"... You're shitting me, forehead." Ino stared deadpanned at her best friend from across the counter of her family's shop. Sakura simple rolled her eyes.

"Hey, just because I managed to land a date doesn't mean you have to be jealous, Ino-pig," Sakura smirked triumphantly back at her, but Ino could tell it wasn't completely real.

"Yeah, but with Lee?" Ino said shocked, before immediately covering her mouth in horror as she realized what she just said. "I-I'm sorry, I mean, he's a nice guy, but... what about Naruto?"

Sakura shrugged, putting on a face of uncaringness. "What about him?"

Ino frowned at her. She knew Sakura was trying to give an air of not caring about the blonde anymore, but she could see right through that facade. "I know you don't really mean that, Sakura-chan... I mean, I know you still have feelings for him."

"But it's not like they'll ever amount to anything, anyway," Sakura said dejectedly, resigning herself to her true feelings. "he's perfectly happy with Hinata, and I don't want to ruin things with the, I just need to try my other options. See if they head anywhere, you know?"

"Still," Ino bit her lip as she mulled over the situation. "I don't want you hurting Lee... I know he's liked you for a while, and it would devastate him if he found out you were using him like this..."

Sakura looked down, a guilty look on her face. Ino frowned as she noticed this. '_I don't want her to get more depressed... maybe it's best if I change the subject.'_

"So... you just came back from a mission! I don't know the mission parameters, but I heard it was something about hunting down a missing nin? So tell me! What happened on your secret mission?"

Sakura turned silently to her friend's smiling face, one that reminded her of someone she'd rather not think about. She sighed. She knew that this was coming, but she had decided not to think about it. "This may be hard for you to hear, Ino-chan..."

* * *

"Gah! That Neji is such a baka!" Tenten screamed to herself as she tore through yet another tree, her fist shaking with a fury quite unlike her usual self, and quite possibly enough to rival the Hokage's. "I can't believe the nerve of that white eyed freak!"

She wasn't using her tools, or any ninjutsu. No, it was pure rage driving her actions as she tore through the trees with her bare fists.

"I mean, why the fuck would he say something like that? Just when I thought he was actually... AH! The nerve of that baka!" With a furious sweep of her leg, she kicked a tree so hard it flew right out of the ground and into another tree, knocking down a few trees that were in its path. However, despite this wanton destruction, Tenten continued to fume just as much as she did before, her anger not going away. "I swear, this is nothing compared to what I'll do to him the next time I see him," she cursed as she charged up chakra for another punch.

"I'LL KILL YOU, NEJI!" she screamed wildly as she pummeled yet another innocent log.

* * *

Neji shuddered involuntarily, for reasons he wasn't positive of but had a rather good idea what the source was. '_I really have to avoid Tenten from now on...' _

* * *

Sakura sighed helplessly as she left the Yamanaka flower shop, wondering if she did the right thing. She knew that Ino told her that she would be alright, but she could tell the news really hurt her. She only wished that Ino would have let her be there for her- but she would have to respect Ino's wishes, and be there for her if she needed her. Like Ino had been there for her recently.

'_What now...' _she thought to herself as she began walking down the street, not really watching where she was going and simply going with the flow. Unfortunately, an answer didn't come to her right away, and before she knew it she found herself on a familiar street.

'_Damn it,' _she cursed mentally to herself. '_I just can't stay away from you, can I?' _She sighed, cursing her own lack of restraint as she stared at the front door of Naruto's apartment complex.

She ahd to get away from there. Fast. But as she began to turn around to go somewhere else, anywhere else, she heard the front door open. Her heart dropped again at just who she saw coming out: her secret love, with his girlfriend clutching tightly onto his arm, blissful and loving smiles on both of their faces. Sakura's face paled at the sight.

"Hm? Oh, hey Sakura-chan," Naruto called to her as he noticed her standing across from them, oblivious as usual the the situation. As Sakura's mind comprehended what was going on, however, her face soon began to redden at the implications of Hinata coming out of Naruto's apartment in the morning.

Naruto was initially confused as to why she was blushing, before he remembered the prior night and how this must have looked to Sakura- not that that was an inaccurate interpretation. He blushed bright red like Sakura and Hinata were, and they all just stared awkwardly at each other, none of them quite knowing what to say.

"Um... Sorry for bothering you," Sakura stammered with a crimson blush, before turning away and running.

Naruto blinked in confusion.. "Um, see you later, Sakura-chan!" he shouted after her as she vanished behind a corner, not quite sure why his friend left so suddenly. Hinata, however frowned as she saw Sakura leave.

"Say, Naruto-kun? I have to go talk to Sakura about some things. I'll meet up with you afterwards, is that alright with you?" she asked him as she let go of his arm.

"Hm? Oh, well,of course it is. Later, Hinata-chan," he smiled brightly at her, one that still had the power to nearly knock her off of her feet and make her heart swoon despite everything they had done together. Hinata returned the smile, before reaching up to give him a quick but loving peck on the lips before she ran off after Sakura.

She found the girl in question relatively quickly. Sakura was hiding behind a wooden fence a few streets away, trying to compose herself. Hinata backed up a bit bit her lip as Sakura turned to her, a dark and foreboding look to her eyes. An awkward silence broke out between the two as they stared at one another. Both knew what happened last night, or at least had a rather good idea, and neither knew quite what to say at the moment.

"I see you had a nice night," Sakura said dryly, breaking the silence with her sharp jab.

Hinata blushed wildly despite her hostility. "Well, I guess you could say that..." she said, averting her eyes at her friend's implications.

"Well, at least, that baka hasn't shown himself to half of Konoha this time," Sakura rolled her eyes, a scornful tinge to her voice.

Hinata, however, merely giggled. She knew Sakura wasn't really angry for that, but rather the rather obvious fact that she and Naruto had sex the night before, and she wanted to help Sakura get over that, as well as her boyfriend. "Yeah, I don't want that to happen again," she agreed. giving the pink haired medic ninja a small grin she had picked up from her boyfriend

"... Is there something you wanted?" Sakura stated coldly, her eyes glaring intensely at the Hyuga. The indigo haired girl felt a chill run up her spine at her friend's words and temperament. Regardless, she steadied herself. She knew she had to do this.

Hinata sighed. "I thought we talked about this? About you and Naruto, I mean."

Sakura closed her eyes as she tried to regain her composure. "You're right," she admitted, dropping her arms tiredly. After taking a moment to regain herself and her thoughts, she turned to Hinata and gave her a small smile. "I just... I don't know."

"I'm sorry, Sakura," Hinata gave a small smile in return. "But I just want you to know that, no matter what, Naruto cares about you. And... I'll be here for you."

Sakura saw the sincerity in her friend's eyes, and returned a sincere smile of her own. "Thanks, Hinata-chan. Besides," she smirked. "I have a date with Lee, anyway."

Hinata immediately grinned at her. "That's great!" she chimed. "You two would make a great couple."

"Thanks," the pink haired medic smiled back at her. "Listen, I have someplace I have to be. I'll see you later."

"Ok, see you later Sakura-chan," Hinata nodded at her, before almost skipping away in happiness. '_Glad she's been able to get over Naruto-kun! Now I don't need to worry about her trying to steal him away from me anymore!' _she thought, giddily.

Sakura, however, sighed in anxiety at the thought of Lee. '_Getting over Naruto... if only it were that easy.'_

* * *

It only took a few moments for Hinata to find Naruto. She nevertheless rolled her eyes as she saw him chowing down at his favorite place.

With a loving huff and a roll of her eyes, she pulled back the curtains and slid up in the seat next to him at Ichiraku's Ramen.

Naruto stopped salivating enough to turn to her. "Oh, hey Hinata-chan! What did you need to talk to Sakura-chan about?"

"Oh, you know... girl stuff," Hinata said mysteriously, and Naruto raised his eyebrow at her inquisitively. However, he figured it was something she and Sakura should worry about, and besides, there was ramen to worry about, so he found himself shrugging before turning his attention back to the kitchen.

"Hey old man! Get another ramen for Hinata-chan!" Naruto shouted.

"Coming right up!" Teuchi shouted back to him, shaking his head at the young couple. '_Ah, Naruto... Way to go, kid.'_

"Thanks!" Naruto called back, and then turned his attention back to Hinata. "So, do you know how Sakura's doing? She seemed to take that last mission pretty hard."

"Well, she seems to be doing a lot better. She actually has a date with Lee."

"Really?" Naruto exclaimed, shocked. '_So she's managed to move past Sasuke... That's great! But... There's a part of me that feels... hurt? Jealous?'_

Hinata smiled. "Yep! She's all right now," she cheerfully stated, breaking Naruto's train of thought.

"All right, five bowels of pork ramen, coming up!" Teuchi shouted as he placed the bowels in front of the happy couple. However, even though Naruto dug in right away, throughout the meal he was thinking about Sakura.

'_Why do I feel this way... I don't like her like that anymore... do I?'_


	28. Chapter 28

"Alright, Ino... You can do this."

Ino took a deep breath, steadying herself for what was about to happen. With a determination to her step that she wasn't quite sure was there, she passed by the ANBU guarding the prisoner in order to get to the prison cell.

After her father passed away during the Fourth Great Ninja War, she had been named the head of the Yamanaka clan and more or less become the foremost telepathy expert in the village. So it made sense that they would ask her to interrogate the prisoner.

She just wished it wasn't her aunt.

True, her memories of her aunt were clouded by the innocence of her youth. It was entirely possible she wasn't the woman she remembered even back when she was a child. But she still remembered her aunt to be a delightful woman who loved and cared for her and the clan. To think she would do something like this...

With a heavy heart full of regrets, she opened the door. Strapping in the chair a few feet away was a face she never thought she would see again.

"Hello, Aunt Yohasha," she breathed silently as she stared at those blank, soulless eyes.

The woman did not acknowledge her presence.

* * *

In an apartment in Konoha, two green clad taijutsu masters were hurriedly getting one of them ready for his big date. After he was dressed up in his best black tuxedo, specifically bought for this occasion, Lee inspected his clothes in the mirror. Giving them a nod of approval, he gave himself a huge thumbs up.

"I can't believe this... my second date with Sakura-chan!" Lee's eyes were overflowing with tears, his thoughts consumed with his sweet date and the joy she brought to him.

His sensei grabbed his shoulder and turned him around, bringing his gaze to face his dazzling smile. "I'm proud of you, Lee," Might Gai cheerfully told his student, giving him their trademark thumbs up as his teeth sparkled magnificently. "You make that woman proud to call you her boyfriend!"

"YES GAI-SENSEI!" Lee shouted, the tears continuing to stream down his face in a never ending flow of watery passion.

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

The two taijutsu masters momentarily forgot all about Lee's upcoming date, as well as any other earthly concerns, and instead gripped each other in a fierce bear hug. All else was forgotten as tears streamed down their faces while they hugged each other with all of their might, the full extent of their youthfulness on full display. Even though neither understood entirely why they were so happy, that did not matter to either of them.

Finally, Lee remembered just where he was supposed to be. He hurriedly let go of his sensei. "Sorry, Gai-sensei, but I must be off! My sweetness awaits me! And thanks for your help!"

Gai smiled as his favorite pupil ran out of the room with a righteous passion, a sparkle in his teeth as he nodded in approval. '_Way to go, Lee. Show her the fiery flames of your youth!' _

* * *

Lee ran through the streets, narrowly dodging people who were finishing up their daily routine. Some of them shouted their disapproval as he nearly ran into them, but he didn't pay them much mind. "Sorry!" he shouted half heartedly as he dashed between them, but kept his attention focused on his destination. He definitely did _not _want to miss tonight.

Finally, he saw Sakura's house approaching. He picked up his pace, running even faster than he was a few seconds ago. He was running so fast that he didn't even see the girl standing there on the edge of the street...

_CRASH!_

Lee ran straight into an unsuspecting Sakura, knocking them both down onto the ground. Sakura was dazed and confused for a moment, blinking in an attempt to regain her composure. It was then that she noticed Lee laying on top of her, a light blush on his face as he stared at her green depths, awe and wonderment in his eyes.

"Um, Lee?" she asked sweetly but with a touch of anger as her teeth began to grit against each other. The trademark anger she inherited from her master began to arise, even though she knew it wasn't really Lee's fault. Noticing his date's mood swing, Lee hurriedly got up and backed away.

"I-I'm sorry, Sakura-chan!" he stammered, bowing his head up and down repeatedly in a desperate attempt to sooth the savage beast. "I wasn't watching where I was going!"

Sakura sighed at her date's antics and shook her head. Deciding that this wasn't worth getting angry over, she got up, and dusted her clothes off. "It's alright, Lee," she brushed the subject aside, giving him a small smile in order to comfort him. "So, where are we going tonight?"

Lee smiled, now that that subject was no more. "I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise, now would I?" He teased her, with what he hoped was a seductive smirk. "Now come on, let's go!"

As Sakura and Lee made their way toward wherever Lee was taking them, Sakura found Lee's hand tentatively reach for her own. Her heart stopped as she felt his fingers awkwardly tug at her hand, her mind racing as she tried to figure out what to do. However, as she gazed at his nervous face, she found that she just was not able to break the poor boy's heart. She gripped Lee's hand, and gave him a half hearted smile. Lee returned with a grin of his own, seemingly oblivious to her hesitancy, and the two continued to walk down the streets of Konoha, hand in hand.

The two arrived at the restaurant a few minutes later, and once again Sakura was blown away at the elegance of the place. She gaped in awe at the chandeliers, the ornate tables, the finely dressed waiters: Lee had clearly spared no expense for their dates.

'_All this splendour... This must be how the Hyuga live!'_ she momentarily thought as she stared slack jawed at the elegance before her. '_No. No, I can't think about that,' _she reminded herself, before pushing that messy subject out of the way. Now was definitely not the time to think about things like her rival in love- no, her friend!.

Lee was a perfect gentleman, just like he was on their last date. He pulled out her chair for her with an exaggerated bow Sakura could not help but released a giggle at the corniness of the gesture, but she appreciated it anyway. She thanked him while rolling her eyes playfully at his antics, before she sat down in her chair.

Lee pushed her in, and then moved over to his chair and sat down, unfolding his menu as he did so. The two made small talk as they browsed the menus, nothing much in particular, just various small chat. Things they would talk about with any friend. When their waiter came, they ordered their meals and waited for their dinner to arrive. Lee continued making small talk, going on and on about his training and Gai-Sensei in an attempt to cool her own nerves, and Sakura simply smiled and listened politely until their dinner arrived.

After they ate and Lee paid for dinner (at his insistence), he once again grabbed Sakura's hand as they exited the restaurant. Sakura bit her lip as she thought about the action. '_I don't feel any spark when he does this... Do I really want to lead him on?' But he'd be so depressed if I told him the truth... but if I don't...'_

Deciding to push these questions to the side for later, she shook off those thoughts and continued to allow Lee to hold her hand. She tried to put on her best smile, wanting to convince him as well as herself what a great time she was having. Fortunately, he did not notice the strained curves of her smile and continued on like nothing was wrong. He didn't let go of her hand as the two of them walked down the streets of Konoha. Despite the fact that no one was paying them much attention, Sakura still felt herself shrink at the sight of other people, feeling as if she were leading them on to. Still, she tried to put on a brave smile for her friend as he took her to wherever they were going.

Finally, they arrived at their destination: the top of the Hokage Monument, giving them a grand (and, Lee hoped, romantic) view of the village. Lee found a nice, grassy spot for them to sit down on, and pulled his date down to sit next to him.

The two looked out over the village, marveling at how the stars started to shine down on the darkening landscape, illuminating it with a majestic glow. Lee sat back, holding his hands behind him like in a triangular formation, holding him back as he soaked in the bliss of the situation, of the sights and, most of all, the fact he was on a date with Sakura.

Sakura wrapped her arms around her knees as she sat down. She tried to focus her attention on the dimly lit village below, which she had to admit to hersel was very beautiful, but she could not help herself from gazing at Lee out of the corner of the eyes. She stared at him with an unsure expression. This definitely wasn't the spark she had always hoped she would feel. Did she need to wait longer? Could she string him along like this, despite the fact she knew that she loved another man? She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, her thoughts consumed by uncertainty of what she should do.

"Sakura..." Lee broke the awkward silence finally. Gulping nervously, he turned his head to his date. Once again, he could not help but marvel at how beautiful she was. "I had a really great time today!" he said earnestly, giving her a great big grin.

"Me... too..." Sakura said half heartedly, trying to convince herself just as much as she was trying to convince her date. She gave him a weak smile as she relaxed her hands, placing them on either side of herself while her gaze returned to viewing the beautiful scenery below.

Lee, however, simply beamed at her. "I'm glad," he said honestly. Sakura felt her heart drop as his fingers touched her own. "I'm glad you gave me a chance, Sakura-chan."

Sakura could feel him going closer, feel him move in for the kiss. '_Should I let him kiss me... even if I don't really want it?' _she pondered. Her heart was racing, but not for the reasons she always had hoped she would feel on her first kiss. No, it was nervousness and uncertainty... and could it be dread? She gulped as Lee's lips grew closer and closer, silently asking for the affection he had desired from her for more than three years. Her insides burned with dread, as she questioned what she should do.

Just then, she thought of a handsome man, his golden hair shining in the breeze and a large, sparkling grin on his face. She knew then just what she had to do.

"I-I'm sorry, Lee," Sakura shouted, pushing Lee away as tears began to build up in her eyes. "I-I'm not that interested" With that, she rushed away as fast as her legs could take her, leaving a flabbergasted and devastated Lee in her wake. Leaping down the monument and toward the village below, she could feel the tears beginning to flow from her eyes, trailing behind her as she ran as fast as she could.

"Sakura-chan..." Lee whispered dejectedly as he watched her vanish down into the village below, tears beginning to flow from his eyes- not the happy or comical tears he usually shed, but ones of pure sorrow and loss. He was completely and utterly devastated.


	29. Chapter 29

With a tired groan, Naruto's eyes readjusted to the light as he awoke once more. This time, he barely even needed any time at all to register the pressure on his chest.

"Hinata-chan…" he whispered as he stroked his fingers through her hair, taking great care not to wake her from her sleep. He smiled as he thought about the previous night.

Ever since the two of them had gotten back from their mission a few days beforehand, they had become full blown lovers, giving in to their deepest passions and desires. Neither of them had left his apartment in days, instead choosing to explore each other completely in the comforts of their bed. Although they didn't just do it in bed…

He couldn't help the childish giggle that escaped his lips. '_No wonder Pervy Sage and Kakashi-Sensei were so perverted… sex is just so much fun!'_

Unfortunately, he made more noise than he thought he was making, and his lovely girlfriend found herself waking up to his perverted giggling. Still groggy from her sleep, it took her a moment to register just what it was her boyfriend was doing.

"What're you thinking about?" she purred sleepily, her cheek unable and unwilling to leave the comfort of his chest.

Naruto looked guiltily down at her. "Nothing…" he said quietly. "Sorry for waking you."

"I'm pretty sure you're thinking about something," Hinata smiled, looking up at her boyfriend with a cute yet sexy look, completely brushing aside his later comment.

"Well… maybe I was thinking about a certain something…" Naruto smirked down at her, both love and lust radiating in his soulful blue eyes..

Hinata giggled and moved up closer to his face. "Why don't you show me then, big boy?" she purred sexily into his ear.

"That can be arranged," Naruto grinned wickedly, before flipping the two of them around so that he was on top. He gazed into her eyes with a passion holding all of the love and affection he had for her, before taking her lips with his own.

They wouldn't be leaving the bed for a little while longer.

* * *

The two lovebirds blissfully left the apartment building hand in hand. People everywhere gave them looks, some dirty, some disapproving and some congratulatory, but all of them were well aware of what happened. It would seem that Naruto vanishing from the town for close to a week was very noticeable, doubly so if he wasn't on a mission. And the two of them were not very quiet during their absence, either.

Rest assured, all rumors of Naruto secretly being gay were tossed out the window.

Hinata gently hummed to herself as they walked down the streets of Konoha, making her boyfriend a smile as he heard her graceful simply sighed, tired and content for once in his life.

With Hinata off in her own little world, Naruto was leading the two aimlessly around the village. Finally, he found themselves in a familiar place: just outside of Yamanaka's flower shop. Smiling down at the girl still clutched around his arm, he decided to give her a little surprise and led her into the shop.

Ino was looking rather contemplative as the two entered the shop. There was so much going on, such as her aunts sudden reappearance and the truth of her disappearance, as well as her best friend's love life. However when she heard the familiar chime of the bells signaling a new customer, she put aside such wayward thoughts in order to welcome her new customer. However, when she saw who it was, she bit her lip.

"Well, hey you two lovebirds," she smirked teasingly at them. Naruto chuckled in an embarrassed manner at her lighthearted teasing, while Hinata still lingered in her own private dreamland on his shoulder.

"Well, just thought I'd buy another bouquet of flowers to surprise my girlfriend with."

'_... You're supposed to get them when she's not here if you want to surprise her, baka,' _Ino deadpanned, but didn't verbally voice her disapproval. "Same ones from last time?"

"Uh, I guess," Naruto replied, causing his blonde haired friend to roll her eyes.

"Let me get them," Ino sighed, and then she moved over to the stands of flower and began picking them. "So, I've heard you two have been busy."

"Um, what?" both Naruto and Hinata blurted out at once, their faces widely different hues as Naruto paled and Hinata flushed.

Ino giggled. "Come on, you two vanishing completely after your mission? Not to mention you two aren't exactly quiet…"

She grinned as she relished the looks of utter torment on both of her friends faces. She may have been a battle hardened ninja, but she was still a teenage girl, after all. Pleased with herself, she began picking the flowers for the bouquet

"So," she smirked at Hinata, who was as red as ever. "... How was it?"

Hinata was speechless, but her eyes betrayed the joy she had felt. Ino squealed.

"Oh, come on, Ino," Naruto frowned. "Don't tease her like that," he pleaded with her.

Ino sighed. "Fine, fine," she said reluctantly, picking up a rather pleasant rose.

Naruto noticed his friends deflated mood, and resolved himself to fix it. "So, I heard that Sakura was going out with Lee? You know how that's going for her?"

Ino froze in place. Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Ino? Are you alright?"

"Um, yeah!" Ino recovered gracefully. "Well… I don't think it'll work out between them," Ino admitted. '_That's an understatement...'_

Naruto looked surprised. "Really? Why?"

Ino bit her lip as she tried to think about how to respond to that, buying time by picking a few more flowers. Finally, she could postpone answering no more. "Well… Sakura just wanted to check out her other options. And she says she just didn't really like Lee in that way."

For Naruto, there was a strange feeling as he heard Sakura wasn't interested in Lee. Almost as if he was relieved. '_But I can't be… I love Hinata! I… I just don't know...'_

Hinata, though, frowned and looked down at the ground. '_Guess she's not over Naruto after all...' _However, she soon put on a face of determination. '_Well, I won't let her take him away from me, no matter what!'_

Ino sighed as she saw their reactions. Not knowing quite what to say, she simply continued to pick the flowers in order to make a bouquet for the two of them. Finally, she wrapped them up and had Naruto paid for it. She immediately gave it to him, who immediately gave it to his girlfriend.

Hinata giggled. "Thank you, Naruto-kun," she smiled, placing a kiss upon his cheek.

Ino sighed dreamily as she looked at their interaction. Not that she had any particular feelings for Naruto, although she still recognized he was quite the catch. No, she just wished that she could be that much in love. 'Sai...'

"Thanks, Ino!" Naruto yelled at her, before leaving the shop, a beautiful girl dreamily smelling the flowers clutching to his side with all of her might.

* * *

The two lovers ran through the streets of Konoha, blissfully unaware of the knowing smirks they received after their recent activities.

As they made their way toward a training field, they found Lee training, a fierce determination on his face as he tore through training dummy after training dummy. Naruto couldn't help himself from gulping. Sure, he was used to Lee's insane training regimen, but this time, he just seemed _furious _in a manner very much unlike himself.

He turned toward the two of them, his eyes glaring straight at Naruto. "Naruto, fight me!" he commanded, his tone not giving him much of a say in the matter.

Naruto turned to face his girlfriend, who nodded at him. Nodding back at her, Naruto cracked his neck before walking on over to Lee.

Lee wasted no time in throwing the first punch, which Naruto found himself only barely being able to dodge. Lee gave him no time to find his footing, and kicked him as hard as he could. Naruto backflipped out of the way just in the nick of time.

'_I've never seen Bushy Brows so pissed!'_ he thought. '_Is this because Sakura turned him down?' _However, his train of thought was interrupted as Lee pulled off a Dynamic Entry toward him and knocked him flat off his feet, hurling him toward a nearby tree.

As he picked himself up, he steadied himself. '_Guess this isn't play time...'_ he thought as he decided to stop playing around and to take this serious.

Readying up his chakra, he made a familiar handsign. "Shadow Clone no Jutsu!" As always, a shadow clone appeared Instantly, the two Narutos rushed straight at the raging Beast.

Lee kicked at one of the Narutos with excessive force. However, he narrowly dodged it and the second Naruto leaped over his partner's head, managing to land a kick right in Lee's face.

Lee bounced backward, tumbling over and over again before landing right on his hands and knees. As soon as he regained control of himself, he rushed straight at the two Narutos, unleashing the hidden power . "FIRST GATE OF OPENING!"

Both Naruto's eyes widened as they realized Lee wasn't kidding around. Nodding to each other, the clone started to help the original Naruto form a familiar blue ball, with a special kick to it. The clone poofed out of existence as it put all of its chakra into the attack, while the real Naruto began rushing at the taijutsu master. "WIND STYLE: RASENGAN!"

The blue sphere nearly collided with the taijutsu master, but he bended backwards just in time for Naruto to fly over him. Pulling no punches, he launched his Gates-powered first directly into Naruto's crotch.

Naruto's eyes bulged out as he registered the pain of what just happened. Soon, he fell down on the ground, writhing in pain.

"OUCH! GODDAMN, BUSHY BROWS! THAT REALLY HURTS!"

While she had been watching the battle with worry as she saw the stakes rise, Hinata immediately raced straight to her boyfriends sides as he writhed down in pain, holding his- _their_- groin with a look of extreme pain on his face "Naruto-kun, are you okay?!" she shouted, kneeling besides him.

"Urgh.. Yeah, I'm fine, Hinata-chan, have felt a lot worse." However his words went over the girl's head. This was _her _Naruto-kun's dick, and she didn't want anything or anyone to mess that up for her. So Naruto had to sit there while Hinata applied the "Gentle Fist" to make ure he was still alright.

Lee, however, had burst into tears. The shame of what he had done was overwhelming him, and he could barely bring himself to look at the two he felt he had wronged. "I am sorry, Naruto-kun, Hinata-chan!" he shouted, drawing both of their attention to his bowing figure. "P-please forgive me!" Unable to contain his shame any longer, he ran away from the two, tears streaming down his face.

Hinata and Naruto watched as he left, all worries of the pain Lee inflicted on Naruto gone from their minds. Both were now worried for their friend Lee. However, while Naruto was completely sympathetic to the green clad taijutsu user, knowing full well just how well being rejected hurts, Hinata was preoccupied with other, less charitable thoughts.

Sakura had turned Lee down, meaning that she was still interested in Naruto. _Her _Naruto-kun. A feeling of possessiveness washed over her body as she thought of that girl taking his heart once more. Now that she knew the joy he brought her, there was no way in hell she could bare losing him once again. Here boyfriend was as clueless as ever, but she needed to make sure that, if he ever found out about Sakura's feelings for him, he would not even think about leaving her.

'_I can't let Sakura take Naruto from me!'_


	30. Chapter 30

"You're lucky you're an Uzumaki, brat," The Fifth Hokage, Tsunade Senju, berated an extremely embarrassed Naruto as she treated his damaged member from within the confines of Konoha Hospital. "If anyone else had had a Taijutsu master give a Gated Kick to his genitalia... well, let's just say he would never be able to have kids."

Naruto nodded meekly, not exactly comfortable talking to a woman he called his grandmother while she was applying medical ninjutsu to his exposed penis. Regardless, Tsunade was a professional, and as such was more than able to handle this delicate matter without showcasing any signs of uncomfortableness with the situation.

Outwardly, in any case.

"So, would you mind telling me," she asked the young boy, "What exactly you did to get Lee so angry that he would attempt to end the Uzumaki line?"

Naruto chuckled softly, still trying to get his mind off his embarrassment. "I don't know," he said honestly. "He just went up to me and was really upset for something and challenged me to a fight. Didn't really seem like Bushy Brows, honestly. I mean, he does that often, but he usually isn't that pissed off."

"... Are you sure there wasn't any reason he might have been unusually stressed?" Tsunade asked him as she finished up mending the boy's private parts.

"No," Naruto said automatically, before he remembered his earlier conversation with Ino. "Well, I heard Sakura finally agreed to a date and dumped him at the end of it. But would Bushy Brows really take it that hard? I mean, I know he's liked her for a while, but still..."

Tsunade frowned. She had noticed Sakura was unusually mopey as of late, obviously still hung up over Sasuke. She had attempted to give her student some space in order to get over him, and had thought her date with Lee would help her, but obviously that was not the case. She would have to have a talk with Sakura later, woman to woman.

"... Well, I'm just glad you're alright," Tsunade told Naruto. "Clean as a whistle and are free to go whenever you please."

As she expected, Naruto let out a happy whoop at this news. He never was one to like staying in a hospital. However, he quickly quieted down as he thought of something. "... What about Bushy Brows? I mean, is he going to be alright?"

"Well, considering the fact that you had agreed to a duel, pretty much anything he could have done to you would be legal. So no, I won't be punishing him."

"That's a relief," Naruto sighed, and Tsunade could not help but smile at how forgiving he was to someone who had nearly crushed his genitalia and taken away a very important aspect of his manhood. Speaking of which...

"By the way, pull your pants back up," she told Naruto as she exited the room, and smirked as she heard him hurry to do as she said.

* * *

Naruto left the hospital in reasonably good spirits, whistling a merry tune as he left the premises. His upbeat attitude soon took another upward turn as he saw his beautiful girlfriend waiting for him.

"Naruto-kun!" She shouted as she rushed through the streets, dashing straight into her beloved boyfriend's arms. A bit shocked at her uncharacteristic show of public affection, Naruto nevertheless instinctively wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to his chest.

"It's only been a couple hours," he chuckled softly, nevertheless breathing in the lavender scent of her hair as he held her.

"That's like an eternity without you," Hinata sighed blissfully, burying her face even deeper into Naruto's chest and taking a whiff of his masculine scent.

Naruto smiled, happy with his girlfriend's love, before letting go of her and grabbing her hand. "Come on, we shouldn't be getting all lovey dovey out here in public."

Hinata returned his smile, and let Naruto lead her away from the hospital. However, as the couple left the hospital entrance, Hinata subtly turned to face a certain pink haired girl going towards work and flashing a victorious smirk at her.

* * *

"Sakura? Do you have a moment?"

"Yes, Tsunade-sama," Sakura obediently answered her sensei, and followed her swiftly to her spare office she kept in the hospital for when she worked there, standing tall while waiting for. Tsunade sat down in her chair and folded her hands together as she looked at her student with an inquisitive stare. Finally, she spoke.

"You need to get over him," she spoke bluntly, causing Sakura to nearly fall down in shock.

"W-what was that again, Tsunade-sama?" Sakura asked the Hokage as she composed herself, at least outwardly.

"I know you're still hung up over Sasuke," Tsunade continued, causing Sakura to gasp at her former crush's name. "And let me be clear: This has gone on long enough. I know I've given you a little leeway in the past, but Sasuke is no more. It's time to let him go."

Tsunade stopped to breath, giving Sakura some time to think. '_She thinks I'm still hung up over Sasuke…?'_ she wondered. '_I honestly haven't even thought about him since… No, I'm over him. I need to… move on...'_ And yet, she could not help but think about a certain someone she had moved on to.

"Now, i'm not going to ask you to give Lee another chance or anything like that," Tsunade continued, drawing the pink haired girl's attention back to her. "All I'm saying is that you are a Konoha Shinobi, and as such you are expected to maintain proper etiquette befitting of your status. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Tsunade-sama," Sakura declared, bowing respectfully to her teacher before being excused from the premises.

Tsunade watched her student leave, taking a big sigh when she was certain she was alone again. "I need a drink…"

* * *

"You're certainly a horny minx today, aren't you?" Naruto chuckled tiredly, placing a kiss upon his girlfriend's cheek.

"You know it," Hinata chuckled before nuzzled her face into her lover's chest.

Naruto sighed in both content and fatigue as they lay naked in his bed, finally having satisfied his girlfriend after an intense four rounds of love making. '_What on earth got into her to make her this horny? Well, whatever it is, guess I can't complain. Damn, these past few hours have been intense...'_

Content, he simply smiled and let sleep take hold of him, his earlier activities finally catching up to him. As she heard the increasingly familiar sounds of his heartbeat signaling him entering a light doze, Hinata smiled. Not her usual smile in these circumstances of pure, unadulterated bliss, but one of a competitive and territorial nature. She had staked her claim.

Naruto was hers.

* * *

Sakura left the hospital in a downcast state and a dreay outlook, as was usual of her s of late.

Her Sensei's reminder of her previous crush simply brought back old wounds of how she had treated her current love… and how that very well might have driven him away forever. And how she would feel the stings of that childish impulse throughout the rest of her life.

She knew she broke Lee's heart, destroyed it even… She heard how angry and upset he was, knowing she put her Naruto-kun in the hospital. But she just could not bring herself to betray Naruto. Even if he didn't love her. Even if she knew he was a lost cause. She just couldn't cheat on her love.

She was so lost in thought, she did not even see where she was going. So she accidentally crashed into someone else not watching where they were going, someone she hadn't seen in a while.

"Hey, watch it!" Tenten snapped at her while they picked themselves back up off the ground.

"Oh… Sorry, Tenten," Sakura apologized, dusting her clothes off.

Recognizing who it was, Tenten calmed down just a tad. "Sorry, Sakura, I just… I'm just so angry! I didn't mean to take it all out on you..."

Sakura frowned, not liking when her friends had problems. '_That's right, I'm not the only one with them...'_ she thought. '_What kind of friend would I be if I don't help her with it...'_ "You want to talk about it?

Tenten thought for a moment before answering. "Sure, why not. Girl to girl, right?"

* * *

The two kunoichi soon found themselves in a cafe sitting across from one another awkwardly. They may have both been in the same age group, but they still didn't know each other that well, and as such were not as comfortable with one another as they would be with some of their closer friends.

"So," Sakura said, breaking the silence. "What exactly happened?"

Tenten sighed, remembering what happened. "It's that baka, Neji."

"Your team mate? What about him?"

Tenten gritted her teeth, the mere memory of it causing her temper to rise once more. "That baka asked me out on a date!"

Sakura blinked. Twice. She had always figured that something like that would happen, so she wasn't too shocked… except at Tenten's reaction. "Um…"

"Well, it's not just that," Tenten clarified, going back down to normal levels. Well, almost. "But he said it was just to disprove those rumors that he and Naruto were gay lovers! Could you believe it? I wish I never see that idiot ever again!"

Sakura sweatdropped. Yes, she had heard those rumors… not that she believed them one iota. After all, Naruto was involved with Neji's cousin. A fact she knew all too well. And he very much wasn't gay. There had to have been some other reason he'd say that…

"... You seem to be getting awfully mad for something like that."

Tenten's turned to face Sakura again so fast she swore she might have gotten whiplash. "What?!"

"I'm just saying, for someone who never wants to see him again, you are very angry at him wanting to be with you."

"That's… I…" Tenten stuttered, shocked at her friend's direction. "No! I don't…"

Sakura sighed. Only one thing to do.

"You love him, don't you?" Sakura said out of the blue, causing Tenten's eyes to widen.

"L-love? I… You… what?" She chuckled nervously, eyes darting back and forth. Sakura smiled reassuringly.

"Relax, I know. everyone does. And I know Neji feels the same way."

"B-but he!"

"Men are idiots," Sakura interrupted, stirring her tea. "They don't know what to say to a girl. Especially guys like Neji. He just didn't know what to say and so came out with an excuse that was stupid even to him."

"That's…" Tenten thought back to her longtime squad mate and friend, and found herself unable to be angry at him any more.

"All I'm saying is that, if you really love him, you shouldn't let something like this get in the way. You deserve to be happy, even if he is a bit of an idiot."

Tenten registered this, and found herself beaming at her friend. "Thanks, Sakura-chan!," she grinned, standing up in excitement. "I'm going to go to that baka and give him a piece of my mind! Thank you so much!" With that, the weapons mistress ran off, eager to finally get the man of her dreams once and for all.

Sakura, meanwhile, barely noticed her departure. All she could think about was the truth of her words.

"_All I'm saying is that, if you really love him, you shouldn't let something like this get in the way. You deserve to be happy, even if he is a bit of an idiot."_

"Do I… should I…" she mumbled incoherently to herself, struggling to come to a conclusion.

Naruto and Hinata were happy… but could Naruto be more happy? And could she, herself, live like this forever? She had to believe she was better for Naruto… She had to be better for Naruto…

Suddenly, she stood up, a new sense of determination etched on her face as she accepted her new mission.

'_I can't let Hinata take Naruto away from me!'_


	31. Chapter 31

Sakura gave herself another once over in the mirror, smirking in approval.

Normally, she wouldn't dare wear such a vulgar outfit, especially one with such a… generous view of her body. But i was far past time to hide in the shadows, far past time to let another woman take _her _man. Now, the gloves were coming off.

Literally, in this case, as she had replaced her usual outfit suited for combat for a pink, provocative dress that showcased her curves better and hardly extended past her waist. Her face was made up, her hair let loose and flowing back behind her in such a way that would make any man want her.

But she only wanted one man. And she was damned sure she was going to have him see her as a woman again.

Nodded in approval, she turned to leave her apartment, ready to set _Operation: Seduce Naruto_ into action.

* * *

Further away, in his apartment, Lee hang his head down, tears of shame flowing down from his eyes as his beloved sensei would not even look him in the eyes. The two of them stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity to the miniature Green Beast of Konoha.

Finally, Gai Sensei-spoke. "Lee, that was a very unyouthful thing you did. I know you were upset after your night did not go as planned, but taking it all out on Naruto was not the youthful thing to do."

"I know, Gai-sensei!" Lee shouted, his tears seeming to increase a thousand fold. "And I will run five thousand laps around the village to make up for it! On my hands! Blindfolded!"

Gai seemed to contemplate this for a moment, scratching his chin thoughtfully.

"OH LEE! HOW WONDERFULLY YOUTHFUL OF YOU!" Gai shouted, tears running down his own cheeks at the youthfulness of his student.

"Oh, GAI-SENSEI!" Lee shouted, his tears of despair replaced by tears of joy. So overcome by emotion, the two of them met in a fearsome and youthful hug.

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

The youthfulness of they hug spread throughout the village, making everyone have a strange suspicion that there was something very strange going on at that moment. But for the two Green Beasts of Konoha, everything was right and youthful again in the world.

* * *

Naruto squirmed as he looked at his girlfriend, biting lips lips in confusion and concern. No matter how pleasant his current situation was and how much fun he was having, he still could not help but feel slightly alarmed at how different his girlfriend was acting.

The two of them were currently walking down the streets of Konoha hand in hand, as they often did, but Hinata wasn't as shy and innocent as she usually was. No, she seemed rather… protective? What with the way she was holding her cheek to his shoulder constantly lying down on him as they walked, and the way she glaring down any girls who were eying the most famous ninja in the world and was overall acting overly flirtatious. Not to mention that passionate night of sex the night before. OF course, it wasn't like he particularly _minded _or anything, mind you, but this was Hinata! The shyest kunoichi in the ninja world! Sure, she had made some headway since they had started dating, but she was acting way too different from the girl he was used to.

Naruto frowned. He may be dumb and slow to the uptake, he admitted to that now, but even he was able to tell something was up. He was about to confront Hinata about it-

"Say, Naruto, what do you say we get some ramen?"

But, for various reasons, he decided to put away that thought for a little while longer.

The two of them began their trek to Ichiraku Ramen, Naruto salivating much to Hinata's amusement. However, they soon stopped when they saw an unusual and unexpected sight.

"Is that…" Hinata began to say, blinking in surprise at what she saw.

"Hey! Neji! Tenten!" Naruto, ever the subtle one, called out to the shocked and clearly embarrassed couple across the street. While it was not that odd to see them together, seeing as how they were teammates and all, what WAS odd was the fact that they were clearly holding hands.

Naruto smirked as he approached the two, his hands still clenched with his own girlfriend's. Neji almost flinched at the knowing look his blonde friend gave him, but nonetheless held as calm and sturdy as he was able to, readying himself for what was to come.

"So, what are you two up to?" Naruto teased them, knowing full well the answer.

Both Neji and Tenten scowled, displeased at this interruption to their date, but it was Neji who answered. "You know very well what we are doing," he responded as calmly as he could. "Now go on. It's not like we bothered you on your first date."

"Yeah, just our first night…" Naruto muttered under his breath, but Neji heard it all too well. The Hyuuga's face burned red, and steam was practically coming out of his ears as he eyed the blonde hero. Naruto suddenly felt as if he made a mistake.

"Leave," he commanded, and Naruto was all too quick to drag his own girlfriend away from the fuming Hyuga and his date.

"...Well, that was interesting," Tenten remarked sarcastically when the pair left them.

"Pay them no mind," Neji scowled. "Do not allow such an occurrence to ruin this pleasant occasion. "

Upon hearing this, Tenten turned her head to face her date, raised her eyebrows and stared at him funnily. Neji raised his eyebrow in return.

"What is it?" he asked questioningly, his eyes burrowed in his oh so serious manner.

Tenten held that face for a brief while before breaking into a fit of giggling. "You know," she said in between uncharacteristic giggles, "you're kind of sweet, in your own weird way.'"

Neji's face instantly flushed, turning away from his date. "O-oh, is that so, Tenten?," he remarked, refusing to look her in the eye as he suddenly appeared much like his cousin.

Tenten rolled her eyes affectionately before grabbing her date's hand and pulling him away to their next destination. He may have been a complete stick in the mud, but he was _her _stick in the mud.

Meanwhile, a short distance away, his cousin and her date finally reached a reasonably safe distance away. "Well, that was fun," Naruto told his girlfriend sarcastically when he was certain they were a reasonable distance away.

Hinata simply shook her head while stifling a giggle. Frankly, she found herself having to agree with her Naruto-kun- it _was _about time for those two to get together. Waiting for it to happen seemed to almost take as long as, well, waiting for Naruto to realize her feelings!

But that was in the past. And now, it was time to secure her future.

"Come on, Naruto-kun. Let's go get some ramen," she practically cooed to him, smiling at him. As expected, Naruto let out a large woop at this, before he began pulling her away to Ichiraku.

* * *

"Ah… perfect. I love ramen. Almost as much as I love Hinata-chan," Naruto sighed blissfully to himself as he walked back to his apartment. His dinner was delicious, as it always was when he ate at Ichiraku, and he had just returned his beautiful girlfriend to her house, along with a wonderful parting kiss. He really wished Hinata could stay with him tonight as well, but he knew he couldn't take her away from her family forever. Well, until he gave her a new family, of course… This happy thought lightened Naruto's mood even more so, and his step instinctively got a little kick to it.

So Naruto simply continued to walk home, blissfully content with the way his life had gone. He could hardly believe things were so… perfect. It's like he was living in some magical, wonderful dream. To think, he could love a woman so much… and have her love him in return! He was confident life would continue on like this, forever.

"Hey, Naruto-kun…" a voice called for him from across the street, breaking him from his thoughts. He turned to face someone very near and dear to him… although, she was dressed in a very… unusual outfit for her. One that, quite honestly, made him feel uncomfortable.

"Oh, hey there Sakura-chan," Naruto called to her, making no audible reaction to his best friend's outfit. However, that was not to see he wasn't sweating bullets. Ever since their last mission when Yohasha attempted to seduce him using Sakura, he had been fighting the increasing return of his attraction to Sakura. To see the pink haired beauty so different, so… _feminine_, it was making it quite hard for him to push these desires back.

Being a master shinobi, Sakura could tell he was getting uncomfortable, and she smirked at the success of Step 1. Now, for Step 2…

"Say, Naruto-kun," she cooed softly to him as she stepped closer to her crush. "I was wondering… do you think we could talk?"

"Uh… sure," Naruto chuckled, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly in a manner that at least two women found irresistible.

"Perfect." Naruto could almost swear that Sakura purred at him, but shook that off as just a delusion. Sakura nonetheless gave him a sultry look before grabbing his hand and leading him away.

Naruto was shocked at the fact his friend grabbed his hand; hell, he was shocked at everything about her right now. 'What the hell's up with her?' he asked as he was led down the streets of Konoha, eventually winding up at the very same training field where they had originally formed their first bond as Team 7.

Naruto swiftly let go of Sakura's hand as soon as they arrived at the training ground. She was a bit annoyed by this, but figured it was to be expected given the circumstances. And it wouldn't affect her plan in the slightest.

"So, what exactly did you bring me out here for, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked her, trying hard to ignore the awkwardness of the situation.

Sakura smiled, eying him in a way that she never eyed anyone before. Not even Sasuke, as they were just little kids way back then, and this… this wasn't the look a lovesick girl gave to her crush. This was the look a woman gave to her man. Naruto suddenly found it hard to breath.

"Oh, I just wanted to tell you something," she almost seemed to purr, inching on closer and closer to her increasingly nervous prey. She licked her lips playfully, sending shivers up her target's spine.

"Wh-what's that?" Naruto nervously chuckled in a desperate attempt to try and defuse the uncomfortableness he was feeling.

"Naruto-kun," said, her eyes looking downcast now, and Naruto could almost feel wanting to pull her into a hug and telling her everything was alright. "I just… want you to know that I'm sorry. About the way I treated you. About everything."

"I know, Sakura-chan," Naruto smiled back, trying to convince himself that that was what this was all about. "It's okay, really."

"No, it's not, Naruto-kun…" Sakura whispered, tears beginning to form in the corner of her eyes. "Because it was only too late… I realized what it was I truly wanted… But I'd do anything… to get it back..."

"Wh-what do you mean, Sakura-chan?" His gulped, fearing he knew what was going on, and not quite trusting his hormones to make the correct decision.

"What I mean, Naruto-kun," Sakura said with a new air of determination in her eyes, staring at his deep, blue eyes with all of the affection she could muster. Her hand moved up to caress his whiskered cheek softly as she stared further into his azure depths, mere inches from his face. "Is that I love you. More than anything."


	32. Chapter 32

Naruto stared blankly at the girl in front of him, eyes shaking and mouth hanging wide open after he heard the words he had been waiting almost his entire life to hear.

True, he had heard her say those words before, back before the war… But then, he knew it was merely a lie. A painful lie that ripped into his very core as he knew where her affections truly lied. But now… he could see how she really felt. For in her eyes was an emotion he had seen many times in Hinata's. The look of love.

The years of pining, the recent lust he felt for his friend… Her affections, real and true. Seeing her in front of him, so open and loving, silently pleading desperately for him to return her feelings…

He kissed her.

Sakura swiftly melted into the kiss, putting her hands around his neck as she poured all of the love and affection she held for the boy she finally held in her arms into the kiss. Her tongue rubbed against the outside of his mouth, demanding entrance, and Naruto, in a lust and passion driven frenzy, allowed her.

Their tongues danced together in a powerful ballet, as Naruto's hands traveled down to grope Sakura's rear. This caused the pink haired medic to purr into the kiss, wrapping her fingers through her love's blonde, spiky hair as they kiss below the pale moonlight.

The moonlight… shining down upon them, like an ever watching eye that could see everything.

Naruto opened his eyes.

In a flash, he pushed his temptress away, startling her. Sakura watched with quivering lips as she saw the pure horror and shame that flashed through her loves face.

Naruto could not form any words as he stared at his friend and realized what he had done. Pain, lust and regret filled him, and he did the only thing he could think to do.

He ran.

Sakura watched him leave silently, her lips left open by the unfinished kiss, with nothing but the pale moonlight looking down upon her.

* * *

Naruto ran through the streets of Konoha, a thousand thoughts flying through his mind.

Sakura, his childhood crush, his best friend, confessed her love for him. And he… he kissed her. Openly. Passionately…

Hinata…

'_Oh god,'_ he thought, dread and regret racing through his mind. '_How am I going to tell Hinata… to _face _Hinata...'_

As his mind wandered, he found his feet took him to where his mind had went… outside the Hyuga Compound. Above it, the moon shined down upon him, as if it were a Byukugan staring into his very soul.

Silently, he decided what it was he would do.

He slipped past the Hyuga security, and climbed the a tree leading up to the balcony where he knew his princess lay.

He would make up for this. No matter what.

* * *

Hinata sighed blissfully to herself as she brushed her long, flowing hair, humming a happy tune. Life was absolutely perfect recently- she finally captured the heart of her one true love, Neji had finally started dating Tenten and she could see he was much happier, and her father had even stated during dinner that he was reconsidering establishing Neji as clan heir. The only thing was that Hanabi was being a bit moodier recently… she would have to have a sister to sister talk with her later.

As she brushed her hair, she heard a tapping noise against her balcony window. Startled, she turned to face the intruder, only to find Naruto already letting himself inside.

"Naruto-kun, what are you…?" she asked in shock, but her words caught in her throat as she saw the look he was giving her. It was a face of a million emotions, and Hinata wasn't quite sure she liked it.

Naruto gave her no time to question him as he walked rigt over to her, grabbing her in his arms and pulling her in for a long, needy kiss.

All conscious thought died as Hinata felt her beloved's lips upon hers, and she eagerly returned the kiss. Their kiss grew more heated, and Naruto picked her up and carried her over to the bed, never breaking the kiss.

Naruto lay down on top of her, continuing the kiss as he stripped her of her garments. Before she even realized it, she was clad in nothing, as naked as she was the day she was born.

Naruto continued to kiss her with a hungry passion, but could feel her running out of breath. But he didn't want to stop kissing her, apologizing to her, affirming his love to her.

So he didn't. Instead, he moved his lips to her succulent neck, nipping and kissing it with a fiery and frenzied passion. Hinata moaned as she felt him hungrily claim her neck as his, leaving love bite after love bite. She found it increasingly hard to breath, but she didn't care.

Naruto began hungering for flesh on flesh contact, so he tore off his clothes and tossed them aside, joining his lover in nudity. Be continued laying kissings upon her flesh, descending down from her sweet neck to her tantalizing nipples.

Hinata moaned in delight as her one true love sucked her nipples. She did not know what had gotten into her boyfriend, but at the moment she didn't know a thing. Her entire reality was caught up in the passion of this midnight tryst.

Naruto sucked her breasts, one after another, drinking in the scent of Hinata. His Hinata. The one he loved. The _only _one he loved.

Hinata felt his manhood grow increasingly larger and poke her legs more and more. Horny and hungry for her Naruto-kun, she struggled to push him off so that she could get to his cock. However, Naruto would not let go of her breasts without a fight. Hinata frowned in displeasure, wanting for more.. And if she would have to struggle for it, then so be it.

As her Naruto continued to bite and suck upon her nipple, Hinata moved her hand down to grab his member. However, Naruto simply pushed her hand away. When she pouted at him, he simply stared at her with an unending ,undying hunger that caused her to lose her breath and put to rest any objections she had. She accepted her fate now.

Naruto would be in control tonight.

Biting her nipples one last time, he got up on his knees and positioned himself right in front of her wet and ready womanhood. With no more hesitation or foreplay, he plunged his length into her.

Hinata screamed in pleasure at the welcomed intrusion, wrapping her arms around his muscular back as he increased his tempo. It was like nothing she had ever experienced before, as Naruto was pumping into her with such lust and power that she felt like she would lose her mind. Her nails dug into her lover's back as he thrusted into her with a deep, almost animalistic fury. This wasn't the kind, gentle lovemaking they usually did- it was that of pure passion and lust. And she loved every moment of it.

Naruto continued kissing and biting her neck, leaving love mark after love mark upon her skin as he continued his relentless assault on her womanhood. His ministrations caused her to scream and moan in such a manner that he just knew he woke up the entire compound, but he didn't care.

"Naruto-kun!" she shouted, as finally her orgasm came. Naruto's release came soon after, and the pair of lovers lay together panting.

Hinata slowly moved the both of them around so that she was on top of his chest, and sighed blissfully as she once again fell asleep in her lover's arms, content with the knowledge that he was hers. Forever.

Naruto, however, lay awake, even as he brushed his girlfriend's hair as she lay upon his chest. Even after he tried so desperately to apologize to his love for a slight she could not ever know about, he could not help but remember his earlier mistake. How he had willingly kissed a woman who wasn't his girlfriend… and worse, that he _liked _it. He feared that next time he saw Sakura, he might not be able to contain his lust.

His eyes snapped open as he realized he would have to see Sakura again, to face her. He… He wasn't able to do that. Wasn't ready to do that. He tried desperately to think of a way out, to buy some time…

And then, a thought came to him, of an old friend. Surely he would be able to help him. OR at the vey least, give him an excuse to get out of the village for a while while he sorted his thoughts.

'_Yeah… that should work… That should work...'_

Now having himself a moment of peace as he figured he had bought himself some time, Naruto allowed himself to fall asleep in the arms of his beloved.

* * *

As Sakura stared at the bright moon shining down upon her, she could not help but feel as if it was looking down upon her, watching her, casting judgement.

What would she say to Naruto next time they met? What _could _she say? He was the one who kissed her… a blissful, magical kiss that made her feel all tingly and loved, the first kiss she had always dreamed of… only to be left alone, nothing but a look of utter horror crossing her love's face as he realized what he had done.

She loved Naruto, and would give anything to be with him… But to have him look like that, to not even want to be around her for fear of repeating that same action… such a fate was worse than simply watching the man she loved with another woman.

But she had to. She knew she could not bare to look her Naruto-kun in the eye, to see that same expression of pure horror and regret… to break his happiness. If he did not return her feelings, she would have to let him go… forever. For his sake.

"Well, that was interesting," she heard a familiar voice state blandly behind her, causing her to turn around in shock.

"SAI?!" she shouted, horror and fury racing through her veins. "What are you doing here?!"

"What, is this not our training ground?" Sai stated simply, smiling creepily at his pink haired teammate. Sakura felt a strange shiver going through her body. "But regardless, that was a very nice set up for a painting."

"... A WHAT?!" Sakura shouted, her heart dropping in her chest as she realized just what it was that Sai had just seen.

"A painting. Here, take a look, you are its subject, after all." With that, Sai turned the painting he was working on around, revealing just what Sakura had feared: a lifelike painting of Naruto and her kissing under the moonlight sky, his hands resting firmly on her lower rear.

"Though I must admit," Sai continued, not realizing just how horrified his friend was. "I did not suspect people could kiss more than one person at a time. But if Naruto did it, then surely it must be okay. Wouldn't you say so?"

Sakura simply continued staring in horror at the painting. "Sai…" she managed to stutter out. "Don't show this to anyone. Never talk about it to anyone. do you understand me?"

"Hm? Why, yes, Ugly. I understand you perfectly. Well, anyway, I do think it's time to be heading back home." With that, he got up and began walking away.

Sakura was so wrapped up in emotion she did not even realize he called her by his nickname. Nor did she have the ability to wonder where exactly Sai lived, or even for her to demand he destroy the painting. No, she was too busy wallowing in regret and fear. Fear that she might have shut the man she loved out of her life forever.

And the moon continued to shine down upon her.


	33. Chapter 33

"... A leave of absence?" Tsunade repeated with a frown, staring uncertainly at the boy standing in front of her desk.

"You got it, Baa-chan," Naruto remarked casually, causing the blonde Hokage to sigh at his impudence.

"Normally, I would not allow this without a proper reason," Tsunade went on, choosing to ignore his remark. "However, due to your status and excellent mission history, as well as the fact that we've been undergoing a time of peace… I do believe I will be willing to grant your request."

Naruto smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Baa-chan!"

Tsunade simply growled at him. "Just get out of my sight," she berated him, but he could notice the affection hidden beneath her bothering to thank her again, he took his leave.

As he exited the building and began to make his way back to see Hinata, he saw Lee doing jumping jacks outside the Hyuga compound. remembering their last encounter, Naruto involuntary cringed his legs to protect his manhood.

"Naruto-kun!" Lee shouted as he saw his friend, doing a few more jumping jacks to move toward Naruto before leaping in front of him on his own feet. "What a marvelous occasion! How are you today, my friend!?"

"Uh, hey Bushy Brows," Naruto nervously said, still remembering the pain from that fateful encounter.

Lee turned his head sideways in conclusion, before a lightbulb went off in his head. "Ah, of course! Silly me! How are your injuries treating you, Naruto-kun?"

"Uh, they're more or less healed. Heh. You know me." Naruto shrugged, though internally he was surprised Lee had 180'd so quickly. '_Then again, if there's anyone who could rebound that quickly it'd be Lee,' _he mentally sweatdropped.

"Ah, of course! You are most youthful indeed!" Lee grinned with a sparkle in his teeth, giving Naruto a triumphant thumbs up.

"Uh, yeah. Anyway, I was going to see Hinata-chan, so I better go see her…"

"Ah, most wonderful of you to see your lady!" Lee shouted, before breaking into anime tears. "If only I myself had a woman as wonderful as yours."

Naruto frowned, remembering what he heard about Sakura dumping him on their first date.

However, Lee seemed to get back to noraml quickly. Well, normal for Lee, anyway. "As for me, I was waiting for Neji so that we could have our duel!" he shouted, his eyes once more shining with what he would call youth. "He said he would be out right after his meeting with Hiashi-sama! Then we shall fight! Oh, it will be so youthful!"

Naruto chuckled, enjoying his friend's enthusiasm. As well as how well he got over that embarrassment. "Well, see ya later, Bushy Brows," he remarked, before leaving the green clad ninja to continue rattling on about youth.

* * *

"... You're leaving?" Hinata frowned, obviously upset at this news.

"Yeah, but just for a little while," Naruto replied, trying to give her a reassuring smile. "I just need… some time alone, that's all." He didn't go into any more detail, he really did not want to tell her what happened, after all…

Luckily, Hinata seemed to understand. "Do you know when you'll be back?"

"It'll be a while," Naruto said frowning at just how sad she seemed to be. He didn't want to hurt her like this… but at least it wouldn't be like as bad as if he stayed and she found out what happened last night…

"Promise me you won't forget me?"

Naruto smiled at her. "Of course I promise, How could I ever forget you, my beautiful princess." He caressed her cheek, before sealing his promise with a deep and loving kiss.

* * *

"Here you go, good as new," Sakura told the shinobi she was working on as she finished patching up his wounds.

"Thank you very much," the ninja gratefully replied, and promptly left.

Now alone once more, Sakura sighed as her thoughts returned to the previous night. How she had confessed her love to me, how he had kissed her with a furious passion before vanishing into the night…

'_No. Stop it,'_ she silently told herself, shaking her mind of those wayward thoughts. She shouldn't focus on that. She _couldn't _focus on that.

But no matter what she did, her thoughts returned to last night… And the look of utter horror in her beloved's face. A look of utter horror of her own design.

"Sakura-san!" Shizune called from behind her, snapping her back to reality. "You've done good today, you can go home now."

"Actually, I'd kind of prefer working a bit more," Sakura replied, giving her a fake smile.

Fortunately for her, Shizune didn't seem to notice. "Come on, Sakura-san, you need to take a break every once in a while. Everyone does. Heck, even Naruto just took a vacation."

Sakura froze at the mention of _him_. "N-Naruto-kun's leaving?"

"Uh, yeah. Guess he forgot to mention that to you, huh?" Shizune chuckled, noticing how Sakura looked down at the ground and figuring she felt hurt. However, Shizune knew that Sakura had been working too much today, one of her off days, and that that wasn't the best way to deal with one your friends ditching you- she should be seeing another of her friends, for pity's sake! "Well, anyway, I'm putting you off duty for the rest of the day. Go on, have fun, be a kid! Shoo!" With that, Shizune brushed Sakura aside, and then went back to her own duties.

As Sakura walked out of the hospital and back out onto the streets of Konoha, she could not help but feel even more guilty upon hearing that Naruto was leaving Konoha, even if it was only for a little while. Her thoughts were conflicted, as she did not know how to feel or react to it. '_Was it my fault? Am I the reason no one will see him, be blessed with his presence… and what about Hinata? Do…Do I even care about her anymore? Of course I do… she is my friend! But… Is she?_

'_Is he trying to avoid me? Does he not want to even be my friend any more? I don't know if I could live with that… Or maybe… just maybe, he's trying to sort out his feelings. Maybe he'll come back and realize he loves me again…_

'_Maybe… But… Do I even deserve him?'_

She didn't have an answer for herself.

* * *

Neji stared blankly at his uncle. For once in his life, and which has become a more more common occasion as of late, he was speechless.

However, he soon got over his shock, and bowed gratefully to his uncle. "Thank you, Hiashi-sama."

He raised his head to find, to his surprise, his uncle bowing even lower to him. "No, thank you, Neji-sama," he declared, his forehead nearly touching the floor. "I am sure you will do both your clan and village proud as the new clan head."

Neji raised his eyes in surprise. He didn't think it would be right away! "So… soon?"

"You are more than ready… my son."

Neji's eyes widened ever more.

Hiashi smiled down at him. "I know that I can never take the place of Hizashi, but over the years of watching you grow, raising you in his place… I do think of you as a son. And, what's more, you are the new Head of the Hyuga Clan. I am now a mere Elder, here to guide you, if you choose to need it."

As Neji heard those words, words he never knew he even wanted, he was so overcome by emotion that he defied everything he normally stood for and rushed to hug his uncle.

While Hiashi was noticeably uncomfortable by the blatant show of affection, and would have rebuked such a display a few short months prior, recent changes and a certain future son in law had warmed his heart. Tentatively, he returned his nephew's hug, as the two showed for once the mutual affection they had grown for one another over the years.

While they were distracted, a fly on the wall buzzed out of the window and went toward another window on the upper floor. Once alone in the room, it poofed back into its normal form of Hanabi.

'_I can't believe it!' _she mentally screamed, bundling her face in her hands as she shook with uncontrolled rage. Her plan didn't work! The rumors didn't damage either Naruto-baka or Neji-baka's reputation, and it seems pretty much everyone forgot about that anyway! Now, that Branch Family member had not only been named heir, but head?! She was under the rule of a filthy Branch Family member now?!

And just to make matters worse, her sister was still dating that blonde baka, and was still "madly in love" with him, whatever the hell _that _means.

It was enough to make her want to shout in rage- but such a thing was undignified.

There _had _to be a way to split them up, to get revenge for this outrage. Even if pure justice was unattainable for her now… she needed something. She couldn't let this travesty go just like that.

Justice _would _be dealt.

* * *

"Should be right around here…" Naruto muttered to himself as he leaped down from the treetops and onto the forest floor. It had been three days since he left Konoha, and even he was starting to get tired of this. 'Why does he have to be be so secretive…"

shaking his mind of those wayward thoughts, he snapped to attention when he heard a faint rustling in the leaves, inaudible to all but the most skilled of ninjas. His hand went toward his kunai…

"State your business, Konoha shinobi," a voice called from behind him. Without missing a beat, Naruto turned to face him. He smirked when he saw his headband.

"I am here to see your Kage," he diplomatically stated, placing his kunai back in his pouch and holding his hands in the air.

The unknown ninja, however, did not seem convinced "State your name."

Naruto could hardly keep the smugness out of his face. "Naruto Uzumaki."

His assailant almost visibly panicked. "I see… follow me, Uzumaki-same." With that, he leaped into the treetops, Naruto not far behind.

The two shinobi were silent as they hopped through the treetops, and Naruto could not tell just what he was thinking. However, considering this village and its inhabitants, he knew very well that he probably did not have a very pleasant past.

In a flash, the forest of treets ahead of the two of them vanished and were replaced with a small village, and Naruto smirked to himself. '_Genjutsu_.'

His guide jumped down, stopping a short distance away from the village. Naruto stopped right behind him.

"Stay here. I will get the Kage," he told Naruto, before leaving to go into the village.

Naruto anxiously awaited his arrival. It was a long time since he saw him. He probably should have come to visit earlier, but he was so busy with Hinata- no, he came here to get away from that problem and clear his head, he had to try and forget about her, even if just for a while.

He could see several people inside the village turn to face him. They seemed to be better at recognizing him that the first ninja he met, but kept their distance while giving him not so subtle glances of awe and admiration from afar. Naruto paid them no mind, he had more than gotten used to such reactions to his presence, and instead waited for his friend to arrive.

Fortunately, he did not have to wait long, as he soon heard footsteps coming his way. He turned to face the new arrival with a big, happy grin.

As he expected, his friend did not return the grin with his own grin, but rather a subtle smirk that Naruto knew meant he was happy.

"So, after all this time, finally the dobe comes to see me?" Sasuke Uchiha smirked, holding his chin high as he gazed at his friend and brother.


	34. Chapter 34

The two remained silent, staring each other down as if they were gauging the other's power or skill or something that no one who did not have their bond could possibly understand.

At last, Naruto chuckled and broke the silence, raising his hands behind his head as he grinned widely at him. "Sorry, teme, I've been kind of busy."

Sasuke closed his eyes and grunted. "Better have a good excuse then, dobe," he smirked at the blonde baka. With that, he turned around to go back to his manor in the village. "Come on, you smell like an asshole."

Naruto chuckled. "You'd know what one smells like, huh teme?" he taunted as he followed him.

Sasuke merely grunted as the two of them entered his village.

"So, how have things been going in Oto since you took over, Teme?" NAruto asked his friend as they finally sat down inside the living room of the Kage's manor, which wasn't much considering the fact they were still building Oto, but Naruto figured it would suit the brooder just fine.

Sasuke closed his eyes as he reflected on the past few months. "It has been going well"

Naruto raised his eyebrows at his friends brief response. "Uh, what about your friends? Those guys you traveled with? What were they called again… Baka?"

Sasuke smirked at this remark. "We were Taka. But no more. Regardless, Suigetsu left Oto in order to rejoin Kiri., and I wished him luck in his endeavor. From what I understand, he has went to reform the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist with another brat. Jugo remains here in Oto, watching over the populace as I have asked him to do. As for Karin…"

"SASUKE-KUN! WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?"

Sasuke closed his eyes at the new intrusion. "Down here, Karin." With that, someone began walking into the room.

Naruto turned to face the new arrival, only for his eyes to pop open at the sight.

Sasuke, however, took it in stride. "What is it, Karin?" he asked, his tone signifying an air of disinterest.

Karin paid no mind. "What's _wrong_, the Oh So Mighty Uchiha asks? What's WRONG?! You invite guests into MY house without telling me, AND YOU ASK ME WHAT'S WRONG?!"

Despite all of his experience fighting the worst of the worst shinobi and monsters, Naruto could nonetheless feel a shiver going up his spine as he heard the woman rant and complain like a madwoman. Then again, considering what little he knew of her from their brief encounters before, he supposed he should not find himself too surprised. At least at that.

Sasuke, always the silent type, continued portraying an air of disinterest, not in the slightest bit disturbed by her outburst. "Tell you what. If you leave us alone for a bit, I'll give you a foot rub and make you some Okonomiyaki later."

Karin's mode immediately changed, as her eyes filled with hearts. "Oh! I love you, Sasuke-kun!" She jumped at him, wrapping her arms around him and squeezing his unmoving body, before rushing out of the room and leaving Sasuke with a very confused Naruto.

"So… you're…"

"Yep."

"And she's…"

"Pregnant, yes."

"With your kid?!"

"I would hope so, otherwise I would kill her."

Naruto slumped back in his chair, completely floored by the fact that his friend was going to be a dad. "But… with _her_?"

Sasuke sighed. "She's an Uzumaki. Like you, she bares an incredible life force and strong chakra, which will bode well for my future children."

Naruto sweat dropped. "You really are a woman's dream guy, teme…"

A smirk was his only response. "Hn."

Just then, a lightbulb went off in Naruto's head as he remembered what his friend had just said. "Wait… you said she's an Uzumaki?!"

"Well, you are both annoying, so it really shouldn't be that much of a problem," Sasuke muttered without missing a beat.

Naruto felt a shook with anger at this insult, but only a tiny bit, and he utterly decided to let it slide. "Yeah, I guess we Uzumaki are pretty awesome like that."

"And annoying."

"Hey!"

Sasuke began to chuckle, a low, throaty chuckle, one that showed the signs of disuse. However, Naruto nonetheless found himself joining in, if only for the surrealness of Sasuke laughing at a joke.

Finally, though, Naruto calmed down enough to ask a question. "So, another Uchiha on the way, eh? Funny, I don't really see you as a father…"

Sasuke shrugged. "I need sions to continue my bloodline eventually. Karin was just all too eager to oblige."

"Uh huh…" Naruto said unbelievingly. '_How in the bloody hell did Sakura like this guy, again? _But that train of thought only served to remind him of why he was here…

"So, Uzumaki and Uchiha uniting under one family, huh? Heheh," Naruto grinned, finding it kind of refreshing that was in, albeit slightly, related to his blood brother.

Sasuke simply brushed the topic aside, however. "Don't get too ahead of yourself. You're still a dobe."

"And you're still a teme," Naruto countered, causing Sasuke to smirk at him.

"Regardless of that matter, how exactly has Konoha been doing since we last met?" Sasuke inquired of him, changing the topic.

"Well, I'd say things have been going pretty well, for the most part," Naruto shrugged. "I mean, not just because people have stopped treating me like a monster and have started to treat me as the greatest person in the world, I mean."

"Hn," Sasuke agreed, urging Naruto to get on with it.

"I think…" Naruto smiled, a true smile. "I think Itachi would have been happy with it."

Sasuke closed his eyes, his mood unreadable. But Naruto knew he was thinking back to his beloved older brother, who sacrificed everything for the village but asked for nothing in return.

"I hope Oto and Konoha will one day be able to live under one sun again," Sasuke said as he finished reminiscing.

"Huh, that's the dream, right? Them, and the other great villages, and even the other smalls ones. No one should have to endure the pain we went though," Naruto went on one of his patented spiels on peace.. Sasuke grunted in agreement.

"So tell me, why have you come to visit me after all of this time?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "Well, honestly, it wasn't just to say hi, heh," he admitted.

"I figured," Sasuke shrugged. "I already told you what I've been up to."

Naruto sighed. '_Well, might as well get on with it.'_ "Well, like you, I've been seeing someone too…"

Sasuke simply stared blankly at him. "You seriously came to me for relationship advice."

"Eh, more so to just get out of the village…" Naruto admitted, causing his friend to shrug.

"Anyone I know?" Sasuke asked.

Sasuke could see his friend's mood lighten considerably as he thought of her. "Hinata-chan."

"The Hyuga? Hm, figured as such."

Seeing how unsurprised his friend was, Naruto chuckled embarrassedly. "It was that obvious, even back then, huh?"

"She was the only girl back then who was not obsessed with me. i was… intrigued."

Noticing a change in his friend, Naruto raised his eyebrow "You… you liked her didn't you?"

Naruto almost burst into tears when he saw Sasuke's face grow red- not nearly as red as his girlfriend or even a normal person, but for a cold bastard like the last Uchiha, it was priceless. "Shut up! She merely… intrigued me. I suppose, if I was to be honest with myself, I just liked that which was out of my grasp."

Naruto raised his eyebrow. "You like a challenge? But… Karin…"

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders. "Things change."

"Guess you're right about that," Naruto admitted, thinking back to his life after the war.

"Regardless," Sasuke said, bringing the talk back to why they were there. "I believe you said you actually had a problem, so if you're done actually dancing around the subject..."

The blonde hero sighed, "Well, actually, it's about Sakura…"

Sasuke audibly groaned. "For the love of- as you can plainly see, I no longer am available to be her dashing prince or whatever she fantasizes about, so you can tell her that-"

"No, no no," Naruto interrupted, putting his hands up as if to pacify his friend. "She seems to be over you. Seems like she likes, well, me, now."

Sasuke closed his eyes once more contemplating this change of events. "So let me get this straight. You are dating the Hyuga."

"Her name's Hinata-chan."

"Whatever. And Sakura likes you now, and this confused you. And you came to me of all people to ask for help?"

"Eh, like I said before. I just needed to get out of the village," the blonde knucklehead chuckled, scratching his head awkwardly.

If Sasuke accepted this answer or not, he did not get a chance to say so, as Naruto's stomach growled loudly, prompting its owner to chuckle. Sasuke groaned. "I take it you still are obsessed with ramen…?"

Naruto grinned widely at the mention of his favorite food, and as the two left to go find a ramen stand in the village, Sasuke could not help but think, despite himself, how much he missed that grin. Such laughter and joy was something he had not known for a long time now, and his friend was a rare beacon of light for him.

* * *

Ino sighed sadly to herself as she left the detention wing. Another session with her Aunt Yohasha proved fruitless, the old woman so completely insane and demanding to see Ichigo. Ino was very quickly coming to grips with the fact that her Aunt was no longer the woman she remembered. After all, what kind of woman would go to such extreme measures to split up a couple in love…?

As she thought to herself, she passed by a familiar pale skinned shinobi looking over his work, and he smirked to himself as she thought of a way to lighten her own mood.

"Hey, Sai! What's up" she yelled, causing the oblivious male to stop painting and turn to her.

"Oh, hello Ino-pig!" he said pleasantly, only to tilt his head in confusion as Ino shook with anger. "Oh? Did I say something wrong?" Sai asked, completely oblivious to his social slight, as per usual.

"... Did Sakura tell you to call me that?" she growled angrily.

Sai, however, did not seem moved by her anger, as if he could not understand that she was angry. "Why yes, in fact!" he said in his traditional pleasant manner.

Ino sighed, deciding to let the subject go. "So, what exactly are you drawing anyway?" she asked, tilting her head to see, only to be shocked when Sai took it away from her. "Huh?"

"Sorry, Ino-pig, but Ugly told me quite clearly to not let anyone see this drawing I made of her and Dickless kissing."

Ino blinked in confusion, moving past her crush's weird nicknames. "But… why would you have a picture of Naruto and Sakura kissing…?"

"Oh, because I saw them doing so the other night," Sai said blankly, having come to the conclusion that, since Sakura only told him not to show people the painting or talk about it, he could still talk about the event in question.

Ino, however was floored. "Why would… Naruto's not that kind of guy… I mean, he's an idiot, but…"

"Hm? What's wrong, Ino-pig?"

But Ino simply turned away, not hearing him. Her mind was filled only with the thoughts of her innocent friend- and a certain blonde baka who would surely break her heart.

"Hm. Women are indeed a strange creature," Sai thought silently to himself, before getting back to drawing.

However neither of the two heard or sensed a small female shinobi hiding behind the fence, not that either of them needed to. However, as she heard this news, Hanabi smiled the happiest smile she had in what felt like ages as things, finally, seemed to be going in her favor once more.

'_Perfect.'_


	35. Chapter 35

"... I see your appetite for ramen has not diminished over the years," Sasuke commented dryly as they left his village's ramen stand.

"Heh," Naruto chuckled, at least having the decency to be embarrassed for his behavior during their meal. "Hey, it's no Ichiraku's, but that guy was pretty good."

"Hn," Sasuke simply grunted as they returned to his home.

As the two of them sat back down in their previous positions, Sasuke looked like he was ready to get back down to business. "So, let me make sure I understand this perfectly," he declared, folding his hands together in a manner that reminded Naruto of the Hokage. "You and the Hyuga are in a relationship. Sakura, however, decided she likes you now. And to hide from the situation, you came here?"

"That's basically it," Naruto admitted. "Though… I guess there is a tiny bit more to it…"

"Oh?"

"Well, you see, when Sakura confessed to me.. I kind of… kissed her…"

To Naruto's surprise, Sasuke slapped him.

"... Is that really something you would do?" Naruto muttered under his breath as he rubbed his stinging cheek.

"I can't believe you, of all people, would do such a thing," Sasuke told him coldly, and Naruto's heart sank at those words. He knew that if Sasuke, of all people, was lecturing him on morality, he _knew _that he screwed up big time.

"It's not like I _wanted _to," he tried to defend himself. "I mean, I kind of did, but… I didn't want to do that to Hinata. I made her a promise, and I just broke it without thinking…"

"... Does Hinata know?" Sasuke asked, opting not to taunt him about his not thinking comment. He knew this was a serious matter.

"Are you kidding?" Naruto chuckled humorlessly. "How the hell could I tell her? Hell, how the hell could I face her. What am I supposed to say when I see her again? 'Oh hey, I made out with my best friend, let's fuck?' And… How am I supposed to face Sakura, after what she did to me? After what I did..."

Sasuke closed his eyes. He did not really have an answer.

"...You know, this isn't actually the first time she said she loved me," Naruto continued, not waiting for Sasuke to answer.

"Oh?"

"Yeah… it was right before our fight at the bridge…"

Sasuke remembered that. Sakura had told him that she was leaving Konoha to join him, but it was a futile attempt to assassinate him. Even so, he could have sworn she still held feelings for him back then, so why would she have confessed to Naruto right before…?

"Of course, she didn't mean it," Naruto remembered bitterly, Sasuke being able to see the pain in his eyes as he recalled that moment. "She was just trying to get me to stop chasing after you…Heh, all those years pining after a girl who never looked twice at me, and when she finally said those words I had been longing for for all those years, she was just trying to control me. Again."

"... Sounds like she hurt you. What did you do afterwards?" Sasuke said, prodding him for more information.

"Well, first I told her where to shove her false ass confession," Naruto all but spat, surprising Sasuke with just how angry he was. "After the war, I found love and everything I ever desired with Hinata-chan, but deep down, I just knew that my old affection for Sakura just never really went away…"

"You still love her."

"No! Well, maybe. I mean, I don't know." Naruto sighed, the weight of all of his complicated relationship talk really starting to weigh down on him. "After she confessed to me and toyed with my feelings, I was just… so angry. Angry like I've never been angry before. I just wanted her to know what that was like, to long for those words all my life, only for the words to be thrown my face like that. I mean, I don't want to say that Hinata's just a back up since I couldn't get Sakura, I love her with all my heart, but…"

"You love both of them," Sasuke said simply.

Blinking a few times, Naruto took a moment to mull this over before dropping his head and sighing. "I don't know. Maybe? I guess? Is that even possible? This damn love stuff is getting so confusing!"

"Now you know why I never fraternize with all of those fan girls back when," Sasuke commented dryly.

Naruto got out of his depression to look at Sasuke funnily. "I thought that was because you were a vengeance obsessed emo bastard?"

"Details, details," Sasuke smirked, and Naruto could not help but smile in return. "Speaking of vengeance, I find it hard to imagine you, of all people, would wish revenge on anyone, especially a friend."

"Well, it's not like I explicitly wanted to make her feel the same way I felt," Naruto admitted, thinking to himself. "It's just that, well, even a guy like me feels things like that sometimes, you know?"

"I see…" Sasuke said quietly as he contemplated this information. For someone who dedicated a good portion of his life to vengeance the idea that someone like Naruto could make a decision like that so… casually… it was hard to fathom.

"So yeah, I cheated on my girlfriend with my best friend," Naruto muttered bitterly. "And now I'm just running away from the problem…"

"Hn, I was going to say that did not sound like you at all."

"Well, all this stuff is so new to me! I just… GAH!" Naruto screamed, pulling on his hair. "I can't believe I would do that! How could Hinata ever love me again once she hears about this?! What kind of person am I?!"

Sasuke sat silently as his friend had a mini freak out. Most people would assume from his appearance that he did not care, but internally he was struggling to come up with a solution to his friend's problem, or anything that he could do that would make it better. He needed to help him. He _had _to help make this right.

"Naruto…" Sasuke said in a clear voice, drawing his friend's attention back to him. "When we fought against Obito in the last war, he tried to give us everything we could have wanted. I could have had my brother back, my clan, my family… All I had to do to gain everything I ever wanted was nothing.

"I could have just accepted it, given in to the dream. But I didn't. You know why?"

Naruto stared blankly at Sasuke as he continued his tirade.

"It was because a world where everything is perfect is useless. To live in a dream, without enduring the hardships of living, to have everything always go right… Such a life would be utterly pointless. These sorts of thing happen- you make mistakes, bad things happen to you. But it's life's troubles that make life perfect."

"So what, are you saying it's a good thing that I cheated on my girlfriend?" Naruto asked in disbelief.

"No," Sasuke shook his head. "All I'm saying is that sometimes things don't always go the way we want them to. But learning from those experiences is what makes us strong. It's how we see who we really are. Listen, if this never happened, you would have lived your life with Hinata. But who is to say that that was the best path for you to take? This might have made you momentarily uncomfortable, but it might have opened you to a new path that you have never imagined before."

"... You mean me with Sakura?" Naruto asked in disbelief.

"Perhaps," Sasuke shrugged. "That might be the best path for you to take. But you never would have known that if this never happened, would it not?"

"I… guess not…" Naruto hesitatingly agreed.

"You see, it is the surprises in life that help shape our tomorrow, be they the good or the ill" Sasuke continued. "If Obito had succeeded, this world would be replaced with one of nothing but happiness. But such a life would have inevitably been empty. To live life, to truly live life, you must take the good with the bad, and use them to create your own ideal future. For it is through the problems we face that we become the men we are."

Naruto seemed to think this over, mulling it around in his mind, before finally giving his friend an answer. "You know, I did not understand a word you just said."

"Hn," Sasuke smirked to himself. '_Some things never change.'_

* * *

"See you later, Sakura-san."

"Thank you, I'll see you tomorrow."

With a bow, Sakura left the hospital.

It had been three days since Naruto had left, and in that time Sakura took great care not to talk to any of her friends or even see them. She had even managed to successfully evade Ino when their shifts at the hospital overlapped. Yes, she had successfully managed to avoid the problem at hand for some time-

"Hey, Forehead!"

'_Well, crap,'_ Sakura winced internally as she turned to wave toward her longtime friend and rival. "Hey, Ino-pig, what's-"

"Ok, spill the beans, girl," Ino said commandingly as she approached Sakura, stopping the pink haired medic in her tracks.

"W-what do you mean?" she asked nervously.

"You know what I mean. Sai told me he caught you locking lips with Naruto."

'_Damn that idiot, should have pulverized him then and there. Well, next time is as good as any...'_ Sakura mentally cursed to herself, before putting on an innocent front. "Wh-what? Me? No, he's got a girlfriend, and I…"

"Sakura," Ino all but growled, and Sakura sighed in acceptance.

"Ok, follow me," she sighed, conceding the victory.

The two of them went toward Sakura's apartment, and Ino started her verbal attack the second the door was shut. "Ok, spill it. Why the fuck were you and Naruto making out? I mean, I know you liked him, but to _kiss _him? And he actually kissed you back? I don't believe it!"

Sakura winced, the truth of her friend's words being like a dagger into her heart. "Alright, Ino… listen…"

Ino was surprisingly quiet as Sakura relayed what exactly happened. However, as soon as the story was done, Ino was up at her once again. "Ok, seriously? You confessed your love, and HE kissed YOU?! What… That's… This is Naruto!"

"I know!" Sakura sobbed, bundling her face in her hands as she tried to deal with recent events.

Seeing how distraught she was, Ino decided that it might be best to take it easy on her. "Listen, Sakura, it's not your fault…"

"Yes it is!" she sobbed into her hands, causing Ino to frown sadly at the sorry display. "And now he's left town and who knows when he'll be back. And Hinata… oh god, what will she think when she finds out?"

Ino flinched at the mention of the cute, innocent girl. Though she did not know how to help Sakura out of this pickle, there was one thing she knew for certain: there was absolutely no way Hinata could ever know about this.

* * *

Hinata hummed silently to herself as she brushed her hair, trying to take her mind off her departed boyfriend. She did not know what made him leave all of a sudden, but she knew that he would always be there for her.

Someone knocked on her door, and she turned to face it. "Yes?"

"Hinata-nii-chan?" Hanabi asked, and Hinata hurried to open the door for her. She was shocked to see how disheveled and distraught her little sister seemed to be.

"What is it, Hanabi-chan?" Hinata asked worriedly, all thoughts of her sister's recent odd behavior out of her mind as her older sister instincts kicked in.

"There's… something I need to tell you…" Hanabi said, her lip quivering as she spoke.


	36. Chapter 36

Hinata immediately pulled her sister in for an embrace. Hanabi seemed to stiffen at first, but she soon accepted and returned it.

"What's wrong, nee-chan?" Hinata said worryingly.

Hanabi sniffed as she buried her face into her sister's arms. "I heard something terrible…"

Hinata clenched her fists as she stormed through the streets, not even bothering to look at the people in her way.

She knew deep down that it was silly, that there was no way her Naruto-kun would do such a thing, that Hanabi had to have been mistaken… but she also knew that her sister would never do anything to harm her.

But neither would Naruto… And he wasn't the kind of person to do something like this… But… what else could it be?

One way or the other, Hinata knew that there was only one person who could answer this for her… and, quite possibly, tear her heart in two.

"Huft, huft… Your movements are sloppy."

"Look who's talking, Mr. Out of Breath," Naruto taunted right back at his friend before rushing in with another punch. Sasuke easily dodged the punch, and jump in the air in order to miss a clone popping out of the ground below him and then kicked the clone back down into the dirt.

"This? This is nothing," Sasuke taunted, before performing his favorite hand seals and forming a ray of electricity from his hand "Chidori!"

"Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!"

"Hn. Really, that old jutsu?" Sasuke smirked to himself before rushing head on into the oncoming wave of Narutos, dodging each one in turn as he made his way toward the main Naruto standing in the back.

As he finally reached the real Naruto, Chidori still firmly in hand, he prepared to plunge the attack into his friend's heart. As per his expectations, it went right through the space Naruto was. however, he did not account for Naruto popping right behind him and delivering a chop to the Avenger's neck.

Sasuke was flung back, dispelling the Chidori as he rolled on the ground towards a tree. Collecting his thoughts again, he grumbled to himself at failing to an elementary attack. However, he stopped as Naruto offered his hand to help him up.

"Thanks, Sasuke. I needed that," Naruto grinned down at him.

"Hn," Sasuke responded, taking his friend's hand and pulling himself up.

As the two left the forest where they had been sparring, Sasuke thought over the best way to help his friend. He had tried to convince him that bad things happen and he should try to see the good of it, but was that really enough for Naruto?

"Man, I'm starving! Let's go get some ramen!" Naruto yelled.

Sasuke sighed as a small smile came to his lips. Of course, there was always one thing enough for him. He just hoped that idiot wouldn't eat through his entire village's food supply…

* * *

"... So what do you think I should do, Ino-pig?" Sakura asked her friend, a tingle of hope in her eye as she looked at her, as if she expected her to magically make everything go away.

Ino thought hard, as she had been doing as of late, but nothing came to mind. She sighed once more, distraught at not being able to will all of her friend's troubles away.

"I guess it's pointless," Sakura sighed, slumping her shoulders in defeat. "I'm going to have to face reality someday."

"Well, maybe things will work out in the end?" Ino pointed out, trying to be helpful.

"Maybe," Sakura said disbelievingly, taking a great deep sigh. "I honestly don't even know anymore. Maybe I should just go train, that should take my mind off of this for a while." She got up from the couch, seemingly satisfied with her new decision.

"Do you want me to elp?" Ino offered, to which Sakura shook her head.

"Nah, I need some time alone. Thanks, though," Sakura said legitimately. The two friends hugged and said goodbye, and Sakura left to go to her training grounds.

* * *

Hanabi smiled to herself as she brushed her long, flowing hair, uming a little tune to herself like her older sister had done many times in the past. Not that she would ever acknowledge this similarity.

Yes, she had told her dear, "beloved" sister the news that would surely destroy her. Tear her heart out, destroy all of the happiness she had had fall into her lap.

And Hanabi could not be happier for it.

* * *

Sakura had to admit, meditation was a lot better than it sounds.

One would assume that sitting still and keeping quiet would be one of the less fun things a ninja could do. Hell, she herself used to think along those same lines.

But there was something about letting go of your worries and ascending into a heavenly plane of peace that proved to be a great experience for those who were willing to humor the idea.

The boosts to chakra control were nice, as well.

So Sakura continued to meditate, relaxing her mind and body from her wearies, unaware of the approaching threat.

Hinata was steaming as she saw the pink haired medic sitting there, without a care in the world. Sure, she did not know if what her sister had said was true, but the mere idea of it was enough to piss her off to no end. And she _was _pissed. More pissed than she could ever imagine.

"Sakura!" she shouted, no trace of her usual caringness in her voice- instead, it was nothing but venom for the girl in front of her.

The voice of the last person Sakura wanted to see was like a bucket of cold water being dumped on her, a harsh return to the cruelty of reality. She gulped as she turned to face the furious kunoichi, and there was only one thought on her mind as she awaited the coming storm.

'_Sai is so dead.'_

* * *

"So, you're going to be a father soon," Naruto pointed out point blank.

Sasuke let out a small smile, one which Naruto could tell was a real one. "Yeah. Soon, the Uchiha clan will live again."

Naruto mulled over his next question in his head for a bit before deciding to go through with it. "Do you still… hate Konoha for what they did to your family?"

Sasuke closed his eyes, thinking over a proper response. "My family made its grave," he finally answered. "My brother did what he thought was right in order to protect this world."

A bit surprised by this response, Naruto inquired further, "But, how can you say that? I mean, your family… all this misery…"

"Can be rooted back to my clan's decisions, yes," Sasuke responded with an air of regret. "And that has caused… many problems in my life. However, what's done is done. Sometimes, you have to take the bad and try to make it better."

Naruto's thoughts went toward the reason he was here in the first place, of a certain pink haired temptress and the problems she- no, he, had caused.

"So, you think it's that simple?" Naruto asked his friend. "Just… forget the bad and try to make it good?"

Sasuke raised his eyebrow at him. "To my understanding, that is what you've done your whole life."

Naruto thought back on his life, his journey from the village pariah to the hero of the ninja world. His early life was horrible and lonely, and most people would have surrendered to all of the horribleness he endured.

But he never allowed all of the badness and worst of humanity he endured to define him, nor did he try to run away from it. He raced to face every obstacle his life ever threw at him with a fierce determination that won the entire world over to his side. Why should this new challenge be any different?

"Thanks, teme," Naruto said gratefully, and gave his friend a big smile.

Sasuke could not help smiling in return, despite how much that went against his image. He was just happy to have been able to help his friend, his brother.

* * *

"Oh hello, Hinata-chan," Sakura said cheerfully, hoping the situation would go away if she ignored the bijuu in the room. "What are you up to?"

"Cut the crap, Sakura," Hinata snapped, shocking the pink haired medic with the sheer venom in her voice.

"What do you mean…?" Sakura said meekly, still desperately trying to play dumb.

But Hinata would have none of this. "I know what you did." She declared, her voice commanding an air of certainty and possession. "Hanabi told me everything."

'_Her sister? Damn it, Sai, why would you tell her? Do you even know her?' _Sakura cursed under her breath, before her kunoichi instincts rose and she grew defensive. "So, what did she tell you then?"

"She told me you… you… you tried to kiss Naruto!" Hinata shouted, subconsciously activating her Byakugan.

Sakura was unfazed by her signature jutsu, however. "Oh, really?" She smirked. "Last I checked, he was the one who kissed me."

"Liar!" Hinata snapped, her voice almost cracking as she rushed toward her "friend", chakra formulating around her hands as she formed Twin Lion Fists.

Seeing how Hinata wasn't kidding around, Sakura got into her battle stance, preparing for the upcoming onslaught of a woman scorned.

As Hinata thrusted her Gentle Fist attack at her, Sakura narrowly dodged the attack, instead grabbing Hinata's wrist and tossing her away with her monster strength.

Unfazed, Hinata landed on her feet and rushed at Sakura again, this time launching both fists at once. Sakura grabbed both of the fists, but the sheer chakra of the lion heads burned her hands and loosened her grip, allowing Hinata to headbutt her.

Sakura fell back on her butt, giving Hinata the chance to pounce on her and prepared to deliver the finishing blow. However, as she looked down upon her and contemplated finishing her off, the vestiges of her usual self came through and she found that she could not do it.

Sakura looked confused as her attacker backed away, and then smirked as she saw her refusing to finish the job. "Unable to finish the job? You really are too weak for Naruto-kun."

Hinata turned to face Sakura with a righteous fury in her eyes. "Don't. You. Talk. About. Him. Like. That," she said threateningly.

"Why?" Sakura brushed aside the anger as she brushed herself off, standing back up again to face her rival. "He was the one who kissed me. It's obvious you were just a replacement since he thought he couldn't have me. But as soon as he knew he could, he was on me like a horny teenager."

Hinata clenched her teeth, more angry and pissed off than she could ever imagine being. The worst part was that she feared Sakura was right- that Naruto was the one who kissed her, that she was, in fact, just a replacement for the woman who really held his heart. And while she had always feared Sakura might be the one to win her love's heart and had long ago accepted that fate, to have had it and have it snatched away… That was an entirely new level of Hell.

"You… Bitch!" she snapped angrily, before rushing at the object of her hatred once more. Only this time, she did not bother activating her Byakugan or her Twin Lion Fists- no, nothing so formulated. It was pure rage which drove her to tackle Sakura to the ground, pinning her down to the ground, and punching her with all of her might.

Of course, Sakura was not one to lay down without a fight, and began trying to push Hinata off of her. But Hinata's fury was untouchable, as she toppled and wrestled her rival down. However, Sakura was able to push Hinata off to the side, and the two women began rolling around in the field as they fought for dominance.

Neither of them knew how it happened, but as they tossed and tussled on the forest floor, they found a repeat of most embarrassing circumstances: their lips, once again, met each others. Only this time, they did not pull away in shock, but simply began fighting one another for dominance in this new field. Eventually, they forgot all about their initial struggle as they lose themselves to the passionate, hateful kiss.


	37. Chapter 37

It was a heated kiss the two of them shared. Neither of the two knew just what had sparked it, but neither wanted to or was willing to back down from the challenge. Their kunoichi instincts would not allow them to surrender, and so they continued kissing without thinking about what they were doing.

Alas, realization finally dawned on them, and their eyes flashed wide open as they simultaneously realized what exactly they had just done.

The two kunoichi broke apart from one another, staring at each other in total shock as they realized what they just did.

In a flash, they backed away from each other, their eyes continuing to not leave the others as they thought in both horror and shock at what they had just done.

Not a word was spoken between the two as they stared at one another, neither knowing quite what to say. As if in silent agreement, however, the two of them simultaneously ran off into the woods, away from each other, away from this mess.

* * *

Sakura ignored everyone she saw as she ran straight to her apartment, slamming the door behind her as she collapsed on the floor of her living room. Her mind was blank, as she thought back on what had just happened.

Did she really kiss Hinata…? Why in God's name would she do such a thing? Were they just trying to one up the other and simply let things get out of hand, or was there something more in there…? But it's not that there could be anything… could there?

She sighed as she buried her face in her knees. Things were just getting more and more out of hand…

* * *

Hinata was like a zombie as she walked through the streets of Konoha, unaware of the people around her as she thought about what had just transpired.

She had never even toyed with the idea of kissing anyone beyond her beloved Naruto-kun, but here she was, kissing someone else, and a girl at that! She didn't like girls, or anyone beyond Naruto… At least, that's what she always thought. But if that were so, then why would so do this? It was like her world had just been turned upside down.

She steadfastly continued walking through Konoha with no clear destination. Life was just plain confusing sometimes.

* * *

Hanabi was growing more and more impatient as she paced her room, eager to see just how much she had destroyed her sister's had momentarily thought about spying on the encounter, but feared it might lead to her being caught and as such elected to hide out in her room for now.

Unfortunately, the tension was swiftly killing her, as she grew more and more eager to learn just what was transpiring. It was getting to the point where she was almost wishing she had risked being spotted, but such a foolish mistake would have been beneath her.

She sighed as she flung herself back on her bed. '_Soon, Hanabi,' _she consoled herself, getting a smile at just the thougt of it. '_Everything will be better soon.'_

* * *

"Forehead, you in there?" Ino called as she knocked on Sakura's front door. As soon as she heard that voice, Sakura snapped away from her thoughts and back to reality as turned her head to the door.

'_What does she want with me? I talked to her a few hours ago!'_ she mentally cursed to herself, as the weight of all the problems she had faced over the past few hours weighed down on her. Hoping to try evading her problems, as that had worked so well for her before, she simply chose to ignore Ino's hammering on her door.

Ino frowned. She knew there was something wrong when Kiba told her Couji saw her head back home in a state of shock a short time after she left to go to the training fields, but for her to ignore her entirely? This had to be big.

Wishing to help her friend- and in no way wishing to gain a bit of gossip- Ino took out the spare key Sakura had given her and unlocked and opened the door.

Seeing the door open, Sakura's eyes widened as she remembered she gave Ino the key. She groaned as she buried her face in her arms again. '_Guess there's no getting around the fact I'll need to tell her someday...'_

Hesitatingly, she got up and opened the door for her friend. As she expected, Ino began bombarding her with tons of questions, none of which she gave Sakura any time to answer.

Finally, Ino seemed to realize she wasn't going to get an answer that way, so she shut up and let Sakura spill the beans. Sakura chuckled darkly. "You might want to sit down for this…"

* * *

Hanabi was almost bouncing in place as she saw Hinata enter the compound through her Byakugan enhanced vision. Normally, the mere thought of doing this would have disgusted her, but seeing her "dear" sister in such a state of shock let her know it was all going according to plan.

Taking a moment to calm herself down, Hanabi put on the appearance of the kind, loving younger sister she made everyone think she was, struggling to contain the mirth leaping through her skin. For now, at any rate. Once she gave herself the approval, she began going downstairs to where Hinata was.

"Hinatan-nii-chan?" she called as she approached her sister, biting back the inherent disgust she felt at having to refer to her sister in such a pleasant manner.

To her surprise, Hinata just brushed past her, not even bothering to notice her presence.

At first, Hanabi was confused. However, as realization dawned on her, her face contorted into a twisted smirk.

'_Oh yes,' _she thought victoriously. '_I am good.'_

Pleased with herself and her work, she decided to go for a stroll. Maybe she'd take a peak on the other element of her plan, see if she could pick up a few more hints on what exactly happened at that training field...

* * *

Try as she might, Ino could not get her open mouth to form any words. Instead, she just gawked at her friend, trying futilely to say something, _anything_, to her friend.

Sakura groaned, burying her face in her hands. Ino was definitely _not _making her feel any better.

Seeing how poorly Sakura was taking her reaction, Ino struggled and eventually succeeded in saying something. "So… you and Hinata..." Unfortunately, it was not helpful.

As soon as she said this, Sakura broke down into tears and buried her face in her hands. Ino bit her lip, mentally cursing her own lack of tact.

Silently, she placed her hands on Sakua's shoulders, and drew her in for a hug, with Sakura burying his tear stained face in her chest. "There there, Sakura," she said awkwardly, patting her back. "It's not so bad…"

"Not so bad?" Sakura repeated, anger beginning to flare in her voice. "Not so bad?! I just… kissed another girl! Hinata! Naruto's girlfriend!"

Ino thought this over a bit. "Do you know… why you kissed her?"

Sakura sighed, struggling to think of a potential reason. "No… I just… it was the heat of the moment…"

'_Spontaneous lesbian kissing… that's a guy's wet dream,' _Ino thought sarcastically, before realization dawned on her. "You know… If Naruto was here… I'm pretty sure he would like this a lot."

Sakura's eyes snapped wide open, and she turned her gaze up to face Ino's sly smile. "W-what?"

"Think about it. He may put up that whole nice guy routine, but he was a student of not one, but two legendary perverts. He'd probably be perving so much if he heard about this."

Sakura blinked her eyes in confusion. "But.. I…"

"Listen, he kissed you, right? So he obviously likes you," Ino concluded. "And he likes Hinata. So why not share him?"

Sakura snapped away from Ino in rage. "Damn it, Ino! What the fuck are you thinking?"

Ino sighed. "Hey, you're the one who kissed his girlfriend."

Caught off guard, Sakura did not have a retort. "I…"

"Listen," Ino said. "He'd probably be thrilled to have two hot kunoichi on him. And besides, this might be your last chance to be with him. If both you and Hinata are alright with it, then…"

"My.. last chance…" Sakura whispered, an uncertain feeling rushing through her veins.

* * *

Hanabi stared wide eyed as she stared at the pink haired banshee's apartment, not even bothering to deactivate her Byakugan. She may not have been listening in on the conversation, but she prided her lip reading abilities, and there was no denying that they said what she thought they said.

'_They… kissed?' _she thought in utter disgust, desperately trying to shake that mental image out of her head. '_How is something like that even possible?'_

Of course, there was the more pressing matter… that of the Yamanaka's suggestion… Surely neither of them would go through with it? They weren't _that _insane… were they?

And even if they did… would the clan allow them? Were her father still in charge, Hanabi was certain he would disown her if she accepted such a proposal, but that branch member masquerading as clan heir in her place worshiped that damn fool and might be willing to allow it. And if that happened… Then how the hell was she supposed to ruin their lives? The way they ruined hers!

'_God damn it… I need to think...' _Hanabi mumbled to herself as she finally deactivated her Byakugan. She started going somewhere else, anywhere else but there. '_There _has _to be something I can do to make things right...'_

* * *

On the outskirts of the village of Oto, three of its most treasured denizens were gathered to see off one of their greatest heroes. Though many others wanted a last glance at their savior, they knew it best to give the two of them some privacy.

"Are you sure you're ready?" Sasuke asked his friend, a worried frown gracing his face as he stared at the blonde hero.

Naruto, however, simply chuckled. "Can't keep running from my problems. Have to make the most out of what I've got, you know?" he grinned, giving his friend a cocky smirk.

Sasuke smirked back. "Hn. I suppose so," he agreed. before turning his head to nod and Jugo. At his master's command, the gentle brute walked forward and handed Narto a sealed box.

"What's this?" Naruto asked as he took the box.

"A gift, for your Hokage," Sasuke said simply.

Naruto looked at the box, and looked back at his friend. "Really? You're finally coming out of hiding?"

Sasuke closed his eyes as he thought about his answer. "We may be outcasts, but such should not always be the case. If we are to move past the darkness of our past, we must be willing to embrace the dawn. If we are to truly achieve the world Itachi wished for, then we will have to work to reconcile with the world at large."

Naruto smiled as he heard those words. To hear that Sasuke was willing to forgive Konoha, even if he wasn't to come home… such a thing was something he had almost lost all hope in. Now, they shared the same dream.

"Ill deliver it safely," he promised before nodding at Karin who was standing reluctantly in the corner. "Take care of her... and your kid."

"I will," Sasuke promised, as a true smile graced his lips, before holding his fist out. "You take care too."

Naruto grinned wildly, before switching to a smirk as he went to meet Sasuke's fist with his own. They held a respectful and knowing glance as they fistbumped. It may not have been exactly how it was in the past, but it was just like how Naruto had always knew it to be: He and Sasuke were brothers, forever.


	38. Chapter 38

Despite everything, Naruto could not help but smile as he saw the gates of his beloved village in the distance. It had been a fun vacation, but he was ready to go home… and deal with the situation at hand.

He sighed at the thought. Despite what he told Sasuke, he still wasn't sure he was ready yet for that…

Regardless, he put on a brave face. After all, he was the town hero now. He definitely did not want the villagers to see him like this.

"Well, look who it is," Kotetsu said to his faithful friend, Izumo, as they saw who the approaching figure.

"Oh, hey there, Naruto. I see our town hero is back from his little vacation, huh?" Izumo smirked at him. Truth be told, he was a little jealous that the brat he used to chase all around the village was now the town hero while he was still stuck doing guard duty at the town entrance. Sure, it was an important job, but he would have hoped he would be a better ninja by now… and the demon boy no one believed him was showing him up. Not that he would hold that against the kid, of course, but it was still a bit annoying.

Naruto was as pleasant as ever, of course. "Yeah. I even got a message to deliver to Baa-chan, too," Naruto told them, holding out his scroll for the both of them to see.

They took a look before nodding. "All right, go directly to the Hokage. I'm sure you know where she is," Kotetsu nodded.

"Yeah, the bar, right?" Naruto muttered sarcastically under his breath as he entered the village, and the two chuunin could not help but giggle a bit at this.

"Ah… that kid…" Kotetsu said to his friend as he shook his head.

"Hard to believe he's probably the next Hokage, and we're…" Izumo sighed. Upon reflecting on this fact, both Izumo and Kotetsu hung their heads down in shame and embarrassment.

As Naruto walked through the gates, he took a breath of the fresh Konoha air. 'Ah… good to be home.'

Doubly more so since people were waving and greeting him. A much different reaction that he would have gotten a few short years ago, but he wasn't one to complain. Smiling and shaking hands and doing everything he had fantasized about years earlier in his darker days was a bit annoying now that it was actually coming true, but he still enjoyed it. Even if he would have just liked to walk on over to Tsunade without all of these detours.

He stopped in his tracks at the sight of her. And he could tell she did the same. He sighed, knowing that she spotted him. And he figured it was best to get this out of the way as soon as possible.

* * *

Sakura shook her head as she walked back to her apartment after her shift at the hospital, still finding it hard to believe that Ino had suggested such a thing to her. 'I can't believe Ino would suggest that… Sharing Naruto with Hinata? What kind of suggestion is that? I mean… I may have… with Hinata, but… something like that is just… Wait. If Ino suggested something like that about Naruto… Does that mean that, back when we were fangirls for Sasuke, she would have been willing to…?'

She shook her head, trying to clear her mind of those thoughts. Such a thing would be crazy, after all? There was no way Ino actually suggested that to her… right?

She had to smile, just at the absurdity of it all. Though that smile soon faded, as she saw the object of her torment was back in town.

Sakura felt her breath get caught in her throat as she saw him approaching. She hoped it was just a coincidence, that he wasn't actually going to her, that he wasn't actually going to reject her right then and there. But her hopes were dashed further and further as he made his way toward her, a look on his face that tore her heart out. She only hoped he would let her down gently- though, knowing Naruto, she knew that he would try to leave as much of her heart intact as possible.

Finally, he was standing right in front of her, not saying a word. The two of them stared at one another for a few moments, a deathly silence between them as they struggled to think of what to say.

"Hey, Sakura," Naruto finally stated, a cold chill rushing through her spine at his words. There was just something about the loss of the honorific chan and the cold tinge to his voice that was just tearing on her heartstrings.

"Oh, um, hey, Naruto-kun-"

"I've been thinking," Naruto interrupted her, averting his eyes from hers.

"... Oh?" Sakura said nervously, fidgeting a bit. 'This is it...'

"Yeah…" Naruto sighed. "About what you said."

Sakura felt her heart rise up through her throat.

"See, the truth is…" Naruto sighed and shrugged. "I really like you too."

Sakura's eyes snapped wide open. "You… you what…?"

"I really like you too," Naruto sighed, still looking off to the side and not at Sakura's tear stained face. "I guess I just could never get rid of those feelings I used to have for you when I was younger."

"Then we could-" Sakura exclaimed, an ounce of hope in her voice.

"But the thing is," Naruto interrupted her once again, this time looking at her straight in the eyes with a cold hearted conviction. "I love Hinata-chan as well. And I know that I will continue to love you… just like I have continued to love you."

Sakura's eyes widened at this statement, and Naruto slapped his head. 'Shouldn't have said that...' he mentally cursed himself.

"You… love…" Sakura's mind was hardly working as she scrambled to piece the meaning of those words together.

Naruto took a deep breath. "Do you remember that day? Back in Tetsu No Kuni, before the war? When you… told me you loved me?"

Sakura felt her heart break at the mere mention of that event… Oh, how she regretted her actions then…

"... It hurt, you know? To hear you say that, but to know it was nothing but a lie… That… that you were just using me.." Naruto began to shake visibly, and Sakura found her regret for that day rising dramatically.

"Naruto, I'm sorry, I didn't mean…"

"I… I didn't appreciate that," Naruto said, putting it lightly. "I just… I didn't want to be hurt again…"

Sakura was close to tears, the pain of hearing what she had put her beloved through… it was just breaking her heart.

"I know… I know that Hinata-chan wouldn't hurt me like that… And I don't want to hurt her like that…"

Naruto turned away, facing away from the girl he had just brought to tears. "... I gotta go see baa-chan now. "See you later, Sakura." With that, he ran away, the pain of both the past and present tearing away at his inner being.

Sakura could hardly see him leaving though her tear stained eyes.

* * *

The Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, seemed to contemplate the scroll she had just read for a bit, before putting it back down and facing its deliverer with her hands folded. "Well, isn't that interesting…" she mused to herself. She quickly composed herself however, and redirected her attention back to Naruto. "Well, well, well, so Oto wishes to pursue peaceful negotiations with Konoha…"

"It looks like it," Naruto said, an air of nervousness to me. After all, he hadn't told her he was going to visit Sasuke, who still technically was a rogue nin. He worried about if she was going to want to pursue peace with the remnants of Orochimaru's empire, and with Sasuke. And, despite himself, he worried about if Tsunade would choose to seek vengeance on his friend-

"Very well then," Tsunade smiled at him once she judged she had allowed him to worry enough. "I shall send a messenger hawk later today requesting a summit."

Naruto grinned widely. "Thank you so much, Baa-chan!"

Tsunade managed to make keep her annoyance at her nickname restrained. "Well, you are the new Hokage. I should think it would be only fitting that you should be allowed to call the shots- be they for good or for ill."

Naruto's grin swiftly turned into a look of shock as he registered her words. "Ho… Hokage?"

It was a struggle to hold back her laughter, but Tsunade managed. "Yes, gaki. I think you've earned it, more or less. I was going to officially instate you as the Sixth Hokage next month."

Naruto simply stood in silence for a few moments. He had wanted this moment all of his life, and now, he would have thought it would have been a dream come true. But the weight and pressure of the position was already beginning to take it's toll on him…

And, of course, a certain matter made him wonder if he was even good enough to be Hokage…Of course, it wasn't like all of the previous Hokages were model citizens, but still...

"Wait, Baa-chan," Naruto questioned her as a thought came to his head. "This isn't just so you can get drunk and gamble again, is it?"

Tsunade frowned at him. "Shut up, gaki."

"Don't you mean Hokage-sama?" Naruto asked with a smirk.

"Not yet, baka," Tsunade snarled, throwing a book at him which he dodged with ease. "And if you want to ever be called that by anyone, you better stop pissing me off!"

Naruto chuckled. "Yeah, yeah. Well, I'll let you get back to work then… "Hokage-Sama"."

Tsunade growled at this, not liking being called , but Naruto was out of there in a jiffy regardless.

* * *

Naruto pondered to himself his next move as he walked through the streets of Konoha.

'Hokage… am I really worthy of that title? How can I lead a village if I can't even sort out my love life...' He sighed, rubbing his face with his palm. 'Better fix that up before I'm officially named Hokage...'

'I already talked to Sakura, not that I made things any better there… Goddamn it… Well, anyway, I guess I should go see Hinata-chan again. But, what should I say… should I tell her? Ah, so confusing...'

As he was debating to himself, however, he saw just who he was thinking about walking through the crowd. "Hey! Hinata!"

Hinata seemed to freeze at the sound of his voice, turning her head silently toward him and staring at him with a face that made his heart drop. Without a word or acknowledgement of his presence, she high tailed it away from him.

Naruto gaped at his girlfriend's vanishing shadow. He did not know why she had refused to speak to him… but the mere thought was enough to tear apart his insides.

"She doesn't want to see you anymore," he heard someone say from behind him, and he turned around to see it was Hinata's sister, Hanabi.

"What? I… Why?" Naruto stuttered, his already broken heart shattering into a million more pieces.

"She knows what you did," Hanabi said. "With your teammate, the medic."

Naruto's eyes widened in shock and fear. "She… she knows? How…?"

"So it's true…" Hanabi said, looking downcast. "I honestly expected better of someone able to win my sister's heart. Looks like her heart chose wrong…"

"What… I…" He wasn't one to cry normally, but now, he could not help himself.

"Please don't speak to Hinata again," Hanabi continued, looking close to tears herself. "I don't think she can bare the pain. And I don't want to see her hurt like that."

Naruto did not even register when Hanabi took her leave. All he could think about as Hanabi left him gawking in the middle of the streets was that his world was forever shattered.


	39. Chapter 39

Hanabi could not help the smirk that was growing on her face as she reentered the Hyuga compound. Things were going much better than she expected, despite a few hiccups along the way. Her sister would surely be totally destroyed, now.

"... Hanabi nii-chan?"

'Speak of the devil...'

"Yes, Hinata ne-chan?" Hanabi said, turning to face her "beloved" older sister with what could pass as acknowledgement and human respect etched on her face.

"... Did you tell him?" Hinata asked meekly.

"Of course I did, nee-chan," Hanabi smiled at her, attempting to make it seem like it was a caring and sweet smile. "I told him everything you told me to."

"Oh, thank you nii-chan!" Hinata cried out, as the tears started flowing once again down her face. "I'm so useless, I couldn't even tell him myself… I had to have my little sister…"

Hinata covered her eyes with her hands, sobbing loudly. Hanabi had to fight hard to keep the smirk off of her face.

"I-I'm sorry!" Hinata shouted, before running away to her room, tears running down her face.

Hanabi shook her head as she let the smile take hold of her face. Not the fake smile from before, but one of pure mirth and maniacal delight. 'Finally. Now, to take care of that accursed Branch trash masquerading in my position...'

* * *

Naruto finished yet another one, before chucking it aside. Ignoring the sick look on his own face, he called out to the proprietor once again.

"Give me another one."

"I think you've had enou-"

"I'll tell you when I've had enough!"

Naruto slouched over on the counter, groaning.

Teuchi shook his head. "No, I can tell there's something wrong. This is too much ramen, even for you. I've never seen you this upset, not even after Jiraiya-sama passed away. So, you want to tell me what's going on or do I need to ban you from my stall for a week?"

Naruto sighed as Teuchi took his fifty-first and fifty-second bowls away from him, rubbing his forehead in the palm of his hand. "It's complicated…"

"Love problems, huh?" Teuchi said as he was cleaning the two bowls.

Naruto sat straight up. "How did you-?"

Teuchi chuckled. "Kid, when you've been around as long as I have, you know a man who's had his heart torn out by a woman when you see one."

Naruto slouched down again, averting his eyes from the friendly older man. "I was the one who screwed up…"

Teuchi put the bowl down. "You want to tell me about it?"

Sighing, Naruto decided he had no other option, so he told him the whole story.

Much to Naruto's relief, Teuchi didn't seem upset at him, merely… pondering.

"You know, romance always was a tough spot for me. Why, with Ayame's mother… anyway, what I'm trying to say is that love isn't easy for anyone. Especially your first love," Teuchi added, with a tinge of sadness in his eyes.

Naruto chuckled darkly. "You know, as much as I loved Hinata, she wasn't my first love."

"You mean Sakura?"

"Yeah," Naruto said, before slouching down on the table. The two men were silent as they were each consumed by their own thoughts.

"Well, life's tough sometimes," Techi said, placing his shoulders down on the counter and looking his favorite customer directly in the eye. "And it's unpredictable. Sometimes, what you got and what you want are two entirely different things. And sometimes, you've got to make the most of what's offered to you."

Naruto looked up at him with a quizzical expression. "What do you mean?"

"Well, it's your life," Teuchi mused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Shit happens, but you can't focus on that. You need to use whatever is in your power and whatever opportunities you're given in order to make your own life better. When life gives you lemons, you need to squeeze them and force them into a hot and delicious bowl of ramen, you see what I'm saying?"

Naruto mused this over for a bit in his head, trying to comprehend what he was saying. 'Make lemons into ramen? I guess he means to take something that sucks and make it better… but how am I supposed to get over…'

"You can't mean…" Naruto gasped, hardly able to believe what he was hearing. "But… I love Hinata-chan…"

"And you love Sakura, too, don't you?"

Naruto looked down. "But…"

"Look, all I'm saying kid, is that when life throws you a curveball, you need to see who else you can pass to. You understand?"

Naruto looked the man who had been kinder to him all of his life with a displeasure he would never believe he could feel toward him. "I can't betray Hinata-chan like that! I… I can't just… throw away everything we had… Throw her away like a piece of trash after everything we went through..."

Naruto began shaking in anger, unable to believe what the kindly old man was telling him. Before he could do anything he'd regret, he raced out of the ramen stall, leaving it's owner shaking his head, sighing. 'Guess I don't always know how to fix everything...'

* * *

"You sure you don't want to take me out on a date?

"I told you, Tenten-san, I'm busy right now."

Tenten rolled her eyes as she circled around her new boyfriend's desk- not that he had done much to classify him as her boyfriend yet, mind you.

"Come on! We've been boyfriend and girlfriend for, like, over a week now, and we haven't gone on any dates yet!"

"We went to the park-"

"That was before you asked me to be your girlfriend!" Tenten said in exasperation.

Neji seemed to be just as exasperated as he took a break from his paperwork to place his hand in his palms. "I am the new Hyuga clan head. There is much work to be done. Important work, mind you, concerning leading and reconciling the clan."

"Come on, can't you take a break!" Tenten begged, to which Neji simply gave her a long and heated stare. "I swear, you have such a long stick up your ass, it's like those rumors about you and Naruto were true."

That seemed to do the trick, as Neji simply gawked as Tenten- and she could have sworn she saw a little blush there.

"I- you- That was-" he stammered out, and Tenten could not help but giggle at how she had driven him to this.

"Relax," Tenten said, rolling her eyes. "I was just joking." Neji took a moment to collect himself, and returned to his paperwork. "Of course, if anyone here was going to have anything long up their ass, it would be me…"

Neji did not even attempt to look sophisticated as he fell backwards out of his chair. "T-tenten-san!" he stammered, his face much redder than usual. "That- you- perverted!"

"Relax. There's a lot more I want to do with you before we get to anal," Tenten said nonchalantly, as if she was discussing the weather.

Neji was seeing red, and not just from anger. "Why, Tenten-San, I had no idea you were so- so- perverted!"

"And what's with this whole "San" thing, anyway?" Tenten said, ignoring his comment. "I swear, we're dating, or at least supposed to, yet you still refer to me all proper."

"W-well, if you act so- perverted, I will not give you such a proper honorific!" Neji snapped, his face still red.

Tenten could not help but feel amused at how uncharacteristic the blush on his face was, and she soon found herself in a girlish giggle fit.

"I fail to see what is so amusing," Neji huffed angrily as he got back up and crossed his arms.

"Of course you don't," Tenten rolled her eyes lovingly. "But seriously. Can we go on a date or what?"

Neji slammed his face against his desk.

"Geez, lighten up," Tenten said grumpily. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but can you be more like Naruto? He at least knows how to treat a woman."

Neji frowned as he picked his head back up. He wasn't blind, he knew Hinata was distraught ever since her boyfriend left suddenly. And he knew it was more than just her missing him. No, as much as he hated the idea of it, he suspected that Naruto had done something to hurt his cousin…

"Neji-sama!" In a flash, a Hyuga was kneeling before him.

"Yes, what is it, Ko?" Neji said, folding his hands together. However, Ko look warily at Tenten. "Anything you can say to me, you can say to Tenten-san."

"Understood," Ko nodded. "I have the intelligence you wanted concerning Hinata-sama and Naruto-sama."

'Wait, Neji was spying on Hinata and Naruto?' Tenten thought in surprise. 'That's… kind of creepy.'

Ko reached into his cloak and pulled out a scroll, which he handed to Neji.

Neji took a minute to read through the scroll, Tenten trying to read it through the corner of her eyes but unable to. As he finished reading it, it bunched it together with a tinge of visible anger.

"Thank you, Ko-san," he said as he tried to maintain his rage. "You are dismissed."

"Hai, Neji-Sama," Ko said, though he knew just what Neji was thinking right now. After all, he had looked after Hinata-sama ever since she was a little girl. If what that scroll said was true, and he would know considering he wrote it, then a certain blonde hero would have a lot to fear from the so called "Gentle" fist soon… Regardless, he held his tongue before he vanished out of the room once more.

Tenten blinked in confusion as she looked at where Ko had just been."What was that about?" she asked her boyfriend, but he seemed off in his own world as he thought about this new information. She gulped. She knew just how much damage a pissed off Neji could do.

Neji was having trouble controlling his temper and composure, but he tried to do so regardless. But his thoughts were focused on one person, whom he had had the utmost respect for for years, but was now treading on very dangerous waters.

'I swear, Naruto, if you hurt my cousin...'

* * *

Sakura took a deep breath as she attempted to dry her tears. She had been sobbing for a few hours, and she would have loved to do nothing more than that for the rest of her life, but she was a kunoichi and kunoichi were better than that. Once she had made sure she had cried the last of her tears, she went into the bathroom in order to dry and clean her face. When she figured she looked presentable enough, she left her apartment. 'I need a drink…'

She usually wasn't one to drink alcohol, having only done so a few times (after all, although it was legal for chuunin to drink alcohol, it still interfered with her fundamental abilities as a ninja), but she needed something to wash the pain away. To be flat out rejected by Naruto… Even after him telling her he still loved her… 'Love's a bitch.'

She continued to make her way through the streets of Konoha, trying to find the first bar that she could find. However, as she was walking, her thoughts drifted from booze to the woman who had everything she could ever want… And now, now that perfection she desired might be taken away from her, the kindest and most gentle person she had ever faced… because of her.

She knew that her own desire for affection very well might have driven Naruto and Hinata apart forever, and that was a dagger in her heart. She might be miserable all of her life, but she would be damned if the man she loved and the sweetest girl in the world would suffer the same fate.

She clenched her fists, no longer aching for sake. She knew she would have to do anything to make sure Naruto and Hinata could have the happy life she always wanted.

Even if she had to leave Konoha forever.


	40. Chapter 40

Oh hi, I am now done refilling this thing finally. Now, to finish this story and move on with my life. Whee.

* * *

Hinata sighed as she lay back on her bed, her thoughts consumed by overwhelming guilt and pain concerning the events that had transpired. She tried to push the thoughts away, to relax and be at peace, but her mind was forever haunted by her love's transgressions… As well as her own.

Naruto had kissed another woman and promptly skipped town… And even with that knowledge, despite knowing how much she should, she still could not bring herself to hate him. After all, she had also kissed another woman… rather intimately… though she could not bring herself to understand why.

She could not even bring herself to confront him about it herself, instead having her little sister buy her some time by telling him she needed some time to think… It would seem that, even with the years and the experience of being Naruto's girlfriend, she could not find the strength to confront her own problems head on.

And so she had shut herself in her room, crying until she had no more tears to shed.

But she knew she could not keep crying like this, locked away in her room. Not even just for today. After all, she had promised Shino and Kiba she would train with them today, and she was never one to break her promises. After all, he did the same...

So with as much strength and willpower she could muster, she put on her brightest fake smile and got out of bed. After taking a shower and getting dressed, she set out to face another day.

* * *

"Are you sure you're alright, Hinata?" Kiba asked his little sister as he scratched Akamaru's ears, the both of them panting heavily after all of the training they had done that day.

"Yes, I'm fine, Kiba-kun!" Hinata said cheerfully, obviously a bit worn out herself. Kiba frowned, not buying the validity of her words for a minute. After all, he was able to smell pheromones and could see that she had spent most of the day crying. And she was obviously still depressed.

Shino also could tell that something was wrong with his little sister but remained silent. And also not sweating or the least bit tired out like his teammates, for his insects prevented such inconveniences from occurring to him. Kiba always hated him for this, but he was always one to remain silent.

"Well, I guess I'll see you later," Kiba said, scratching the back of his head awkwardly as he sighed. He wanted to get the real answer, to understand what was really going on in his little sister's mind, but he knew she was her own woman who could take care of herself. Besides, he knew for a fact that women didn't like when you delved too deeply into their problems. He lived with his mom and sister, he would know.

Shino silently watched, not saying a word. He simply observed the situation, taking it in, and acting how all of his friends described as creepy.

"Yeah, I'll see you two later, Kiba-kun, Shino-kun" Hinata cheerfully told her two big brothers, with a big bright smile they both could tell was fake. However, neither of them said a word, and she took off running away from the training field without looking back at them or waiting for another word.

"I wonder what's wrong with her," Kiba said worryingly to Shino with a frown once she was out of sight

"Whatever it is, I'm sure it will work itself out," Shino stated simply, causing Kiba to roll his eyes but not comment on it.

"You think it's something about Naru-" Kiba turned to face Shino, only to find that he was gone. He looked all around, but he was nowhere to be seen.. "God dammit… Well, at least I got you, right, Akamaru? … Akamaru?" Kiba looked around once again in order to try and see where his canine friend had gone, but a quick sniff revealed he had gone chasing after a female dog who had wandered nearby. "Oh, sure, dump me for some bitch. I see how it is, Akamaru. You're just like dad," Kiba said with a huff. With a sigh, he turned around and started to head home.

* * *

"Ah…" Hinata sighed blissfully to herself as she slipped into the onsen, with naught but a towel to conceal herself. She could have stayed in Konoha for this, but she knew that she would inevitably run into someone familiar and start up a conversation she did not want to take part in. So she had left the village to a rural hot springs a few miles out in order to be anonymous. At last, she could relax in peace.

"Hey, Hinata!" Or at least, she had thought so.

Hinata held back a sigh as she turned to the new arrival with a fake smile on her face. "Hello, Ino-san," she said politely, trying to hide her frustration at being either followed or found. Afterward, she tried ignoring Ino, turning her attention back to the hot, steamy waters.

Ino did not seem to want to leave her alone, however, as she sat right next to Hinata in the hot, steamy bath. Hinata looked at her in an annoyed fashion but did not question it. She had come out her to be left alone, after all. Ino, however, had not followed her all of the way out here and not have a talk with her, and so she would have one.

"So… Forehead told me everything that happened."

Hinata flushed bright red at this, her eyes widened so that one might mistake them for dinnerplates. "She… she did?"

"Yeah," Ino said simply, and an uncomfortable silence followed. Hinata fidgeted nervously, eying the door with half a mind to leave Ino in the dust right there without another word. However, she was much too kind to abandon her friends, even in an awkward situation such as this.

Ino, of course, would not allow her to escape either way. "So… What are you going to do?"

Hinata turned to face the intrusive blond with a red, hot stammering face. "W-what do you mean?"

"Well," Ino said, tapping her finger against her chin thoughtfully. "I mean, about Naruto? Are you going to forgive him, after what he did?"

Hinata looked down, thinking about what Ino had just asked of her. Could she forgive Naruto? There was no doubt in her mind that she could- hell, she very well might have done so already. Try as she might, she just couldn't bring herself to not love him. And, of course, she was guilty of the same crime that he was…

Ino sighed as she saw how hurt Hinata was. 'Guess I was a bit rough on her...' she silently slapped herself. "Well, I mean, Sakura told me about… well, you know." Ino chuckled nervously as she recalled that very… interesting conversation the two of them had.

"Hinata sighed before looking Ino in the eye. "Are you going to call me easy or a slut? Because if so, would you kindly just butt out of my business?"

Ino's eyes widened at the accusation "N-no! I wasn't trying to call you that at all! I would never call you that!" she said quickly, holding her hands up in self defense.

Hinata frowned at herself. "Sorry, I shouldn't have been to quick to judge," she admitted. "I've jsut been… a little on edge lately, you know?"

Ino smiled comfortingly at her. "I understand," she said knowingly, and Hinata smiled back at her, pleased that this misunderstanding had been resolved. However, Ino wasn't done yet.

"So… are you still going to date Naruto?"

This time, Hinata was not as unsure of herself. Instead, she turned to Ino, with a look of determination on her face. "Of course I am! I… I can never not love him…"

"And I know he loves you… I can see it on his face," Ino told her. "But… He also loves Sakura. Does that… does that bother you?"

Hinata smiled sadly. "I've lived most of my life with him loving her," she chuckled darkly. "Even if he truly loves her… At least he'd be happy. And hey, I'd at least have the memories of when we were a couple."

Ino looked down in sorrow. Hinata was more than willing to up her own happiness if her love truly loved another. she couldn't even imagine doing that… her affection for Sasuke was just a childish crush, she knew that now, but even the pain of letting Sakura have him way back then was more than she could bare. She couldn't imagine if she was actually in love with someone who loved another woman, or allowing him to leave her with a smile. She only hoped that she could make it better for everyone…

"You know, it doesn't have to be like that…" Ino said cryptically, looking up toward the sky.

Hinata raised her eyebrow and looked confusedly at her. "Huh?"

* * *

'Ah… peace and quiet, at last...'

Neji went through his paperwork with a smile. While it was true that he held affections for Tenten, and he cared for her deeply, he had to admit that she was very...annoying, at times. Particularly when she was suggestions some rather… perverse actions.

He fought the blush that was racing to his face, and instead focused himself on his work. Being a clan head meant that there was much for him to do, and the last thing he needed was a noisy and perverse girlfriend to distract him from his obligations. Yes, no disctractions was the way to-

"Neji-sama!"

Neji sighed as he saw Ko arrive. 'Just my luck.' "What is it, Ko-san?"

"It's Hinata-sama!" Ko stammered out, sounding a little out of breath. "Naruto… he… he kidnapped her."

This got Neji's attention. "What? Explain, now."

"I was watching them, as per your instructions," Ko explained. "They were in the woods, arguing over his infidelity. Naruto… he got really angry, and knocked her unconscious! Not jsut that, she was really taking a beating… Afterwards, he dragged her body deep into the Forest of Death. I would have followed, but I know I'm no match for him… Forgive me, Neji-sama…"

Neji closed his eyes. He did not want to believe it, that Naruto, of all people, was capable of potentially murdering his cousin, but this fit perfectly with the intel Ko had delivered to him. And he dared not risk his cousin's safety, even if it was to a man he greatly admired.

Wanting to be sure, however, he activated his Byakugan. His fists clenched as he saw that what Ko had said was true- Naruto was carrying a heavily wounded Hinata through the Forest of Death. While there was another Naruto running around the village, he knew all too well the trickery of the Kage Bunshin No Jutsu. His rage at Naruto and feelings at betrayal only grew stronger and stronger, but he managed to keep a calm and cool head as he deactivated his Byakugan. As he sat there, he quickly ran throug various scenarios of what he should do.

Of course, he knew he could not tell the Hokage about this… he was her favorite and was practically guaranteed the position of Sixth Hokage, after all. And he dared not tell the public about this- yet. They worshiped the boy, now. No, he didn't want to do that without evidence- and regardless of that, his cousin's safety was of the utmost importance. Who knew just how much longer she had with that madman? But he could not order the clan to go after Naruto without explaining why… Which left only one alternative. Which just so happened to be the one that sounded the best to his furious mind.

"Ko, tell anyone who asks where I am that I have some important business to attend to," Neji said, standing up from his desk "I'm heading to the Forest of Death."


	41. Chapter 41

Neji was, for lack of a word more befitting his status and demeanor, pissed.

He could hardly believe this. No, such a thing was impossible for him to wrap his mind around. Naruto Uzumaki, the very same man that had saved him from himself, not to mention the entire world from a crazy madman and an army of immortals, had kidnapped Hinata!

Neji had had his concerns as of late regarding the village pariah turned savior hurting his cousin due to his relationship with his pink haired teammate, but to actually harm her? To kidnap her? Such a thought would never cross his genius mind in a million years!

Regardless of why Naruto had done such a crime, he knew that it must be so. Nothing could fool the Byakugan, a fact that he was made well aware of.

His Byakugan was activated as he rushed toward where Hinata was, his eyes constantly checking his beloved cousin's chakra levels as he raced toward her. His heart dropped considerably as he saw hers do the same. 'Fading fast… Shit!'

At long last he managed to arrive at the Forest of Death, but he had no time to simply gawk at the gates or prepare for the terror within. He barely paid any mind to anything as he entered the forest, his mind devoted to one sole and all important task.

As he approached the chakra signatures of Hinata and Naruto, his blood began to boil to previously unimaginable levels as he felt his beloved cousin's chakra fading fast. It was to a point where his ninja training and genius failed him. It was only pure instinct and rage that drove him now.

So consumed by pure and utter blind rage, he barely had time to react as Naruto's chakra vanished before reappearing several inches from his face, delivering a kick that the Hyuga prodigy had no time to dodge.

As Neji righted himself back up after flying several feet due to the kick, he stared at his former friend with an undying and unending hatred. Without a second thought, he flung himself at the bastard. "Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Palm!"

Naruto body flickered away from the attack just in time, reappearing right behind Neji once more. However, this time the clan prodigy was ready for him, Gracefully dodging the sloppy punch thrown at him, he thrusted his palm back at Naruto. "Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Palm!"

This time, the technique seemed to work, knocking the blonde back toward the tree and successfully shutting off a few chakra points in his upper torso. Neji wanted so badly to finish the job, but his cousin's rapidly dropping chakra concerned him more. Without a second glance at the momentarily defeated Naruto, he rushed to where his cousin was.

"Hinata-sama!" he cried in fear, cradling her head in his lap. He deperately looked at her chakra points, but was not able to see anything good. Whatever that bastard Naruto did, this was too much. He was not one to cry, but this was pushing his limits.

Suddenly, Hinata's skin began to corrode, and to Neji's complete and utter horror, she began to melt away as if she were submerged in a horrific acid, until there was nothing left.

"Hi...Hinata-sama!"

"Weak," Naruto said from behind him, and Neji turned to face him only to find that he was completely healed. "You couldn't even save that pathetic reject. And now, you honestly expect me to believe that you can lead the greatest clan in the Shinobi world to glory? Don't make me laugh."

Neji's fists clenched in anger as he stared at that damned bastard. His legs shaking, he nevertheless stood up and tried to stare back with dignity, hiding the fact he was destroyed on the inside. "Don't you dare…"

"Oh, what's wrong? Did the caged bird get his feelings hurt?" Naruto chuckled mockingly at him, showing his fangs as he glared superiorly at the jonin. "I have to say, you're as weak and pathetic as your bastard father." He smiled wickedly as Neji visibly grimaced. "Looks like I struck a nerve. How… expected. Now, if you'll excuse me, I do believe it's time I paid a visit to that whore of yours…"

This insult directed at Tenten was the final straw for the fuming Hyuga. With a deafening roar, he rushed straight at the grinning and confident Naruto.

"YOU BASTARD!"

* * *

"I don't know, Ko-san. I've never seen anything like it before. But judging by the density of the malnourished chakra, I'd say that he could be like this for years, untreated," the old woman sighed as she stood up from checking on her patient.

Ko nodded in understanding at their clan's resident doctor, Hana Hyuga, before turning his gaze back at their unconscious clan head. "His chakra abnormalities indicates a genjutsu, but it doesn't appear to be external stimuli. Is it possible that one could develop a drug that induces genjutsu? Even if one could do such a thing, to create a genjutsu this powerful..."

Hana watched her fellow Hyuga consider the possibilities as they both pondered what it was that they could do. "This is way beyond my area of expertise," Hana admitted reluctantly. "Perhaps it would be best to call upon the Hokage."

"We cannot allow word of this to spread," Ko coldly stated, causing Hana to raise her eyebrows. Without missing a beat, Ko explained. "Neji is a new clan head, untested. Furthermore, he is formerly of the Branch house. If news of his incapacitation spread, it could bring humiliation from without and utter chaos from within. The old warbirds who never wanted a Branch member in charge would have a field day over this. It could very well destroy our clan's reputation forever."

Hana sighed, exasperated. "But if he is not better soon, then news will spread anyway!"

Ko pondered this for a moment. "We can say the the pressures of the job were too great and he felt he could not handle it, so he chose a life of seclusion to atone for his failure."

Hana raised her eyebrow. "And wouldn't that still cast shame upon the family, and the boy?"

"We can do without the boy," Ko said simply. "His integrity is of no consequence to the clan at large. We will survive his downfall."

Hana nodded in understanding. "That would please the more conservative parts of the clan," she admitted. However, she was not thoroughly convinced.. "Regardless, that leaves the matter of his replacement. Hiashi-sama is on a long term diplomatic mission for the village, and Hinata-sama relinquished the rights to the title. And that leaves…"

Ko nodded to her. "Indeed. It appear we have no other option." Even despite his cold and unfeeling exterior, he could not help but feel the ghost of a smile at the edge of his lips...

* * *

Hinata's face resembled a tomato as she made her way back from the hot springs toward Konoha. She could hardly believe that Ino would suggest such a thing!

To share her Naruto… what would drive the Yamanaka to think that that was a possibility? What would give her the sense that that was a good idea? What kind of woman would accept such a thing.

Was Ino... open to the idea of sharing a man, herself? Would she do it if given the chance? Could it be that she had fantasized about something similar to this with her old crush, Sasuke? Or was she simply trying to help save Sakura's sanity by any means possible, even by suggesting something that she would never do herself?

Sakura… Hinata's heart clenched at the thought of sharing Naruto with her. True, she knew that the pink haired medic's feelings were true, unlike the overbearing crush many other women in the village had for her Naruto. Would Sakura accept such a thing? Did she desire Naruto so much, that even sharing him would be preferable to not having him at all? Was Sakura that in love with her Naruto-kun? But even if that were the case, why would Hinata, herself, want to share him? It's not like she had any feelings for her pink haired friend, anyway.

Her mind, however, lingered to a few events she had tried to push from her mind… Their accidental kiss on their mission to retrieve Ino's aunt, Yohasha, and their all too heated kiss a few days earlier when Hinata went to confront her… A kiss that was all too heated and too passionate to say she did not enjoy it...

She shook these thoughts from her mind. She had no time to dwell on such matters. Well, actually, she had plenty of time, but she really did not want to do so. Purging such thoughts from her mind, or at the very least as well as she could do so, she continued to make her way to Konoha.

As she arrived at the gates to her compound, she reported in dutifully to the eternal watchdogs, Izumo and Kotetsu, and reentered her village.

'I wonder what I should do now..' she pondered to herself. As much as she wanted to leap into Naruto's arms, she did not think she could handle facing him yet. After all, could she forgive him already? And could she forgive herself for what she did? The hot springs trip did not seem to help as much as she wished it did. She wondered idly how much better it would have gone without Ino's "help", but she quickly shook that thought off.

Finally, she decided that she might as well go back home and rest for the day. She still needed to do some thinking, after all, and where better to do so than in the comfort of her own room? So, her mind made up, she raced on toward her home.

As she approached the gates to the compound, she was stopped by the two Branch members guarding the entrance, an oddity to be sure, as while the entrance to the compound was always guarded, they always let her in without a fuss.

"What is the meaning of this?" she asked as politely as she could. After all, surely the guards could see that it was her? The Byakugan could not be fooled by a mere transformation, after all.

"Forgive us, Hinata-sama," one of them, whom Hinata recognized as a Branch member named Hitatai, said, his face as emotionless as steel. "Recent events have caused us to step up our security, particularly for non clan members?"

"Non clan members?" Hinata replied, completely and utterly shocked.

Hitatai nodded. "Correct. By renouncing your birthright and choosing to marry a non-Hyuga, our new clan head has deemed you unfit to be a member of the clan, and thus you are expelled.

"What?" Hinata said, confusion ans shock clear in her voice. To be kicked out of her own clan, her own home? However, she soon registered what the Branch member had just said to her. "Wait… NEW clan head? What happened to Neji-kun? Is he-"

"This does not concern you, outsider," Hitatai said, raising his hands in an attempt to calm the ex heiress.

It did not seem to work, however. "I'd say my cousin's health and safety does concern me," Hinata snapped, her standard pleasantness washing out of her voice.

Hitati remained unmoved. "This is clan business. However, there is a certain matter that remains to be taken care of…"

"Oh? And what is that?" Hinata countered.

"If you would simply follow me," Hitatai said as he turned away, not even bothering to check if Hinata was following him.

Hinata frowned as she saw him leave, but nevertheless wanted to know more about what was going on. So, readying her defenses, she followed the Branch member in an attempt to see just what was going on.

From a window in the main household of the Hyuga clan high above them, the new clan head watched her sister enter the compound, a triumphant smirk on her face.


End file.
